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I was delighted to see this Monarch butterfly caterpillar on one of the Swamp milkweeds this morning. (Takes away some of the disappointment of the deer and rabbits nibbling off the aster buds.)

I’m delighted to say the garden is joining the David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway Project. Thanks to the Haliburton County Master Gardeners for facilitating this.

I always knew the first year would be weedy. Until the plants are established and because I didn’t put a thick layer of mulch down (here’s why), weeds will pop up. I’m taking a pretty relaxed attitude towards them. In the main, I want to stop them seeding and creating more weeds, so I’ll keep…

This is what makes it worthwhile. A monarch butterfly on the Swamp Milkweed planted in the garden.

Someone passed by the garden at Lucas House the other day and said: you’re going to need more plants. Not true – mostly. It’s true, the planting looks rather sparse right now. The thing is, we’re used to instant gardens – big plants, already flowering. Boom, you’re done! This garden was planted with smaller plants…

In December 2022 I completed a course with the University of Guelph on naturalizing and restoring landscapes. My final project was a proposal to create a natural native plant garden at Lucas House, in Haliburton, Ontario. Introduction Lucas House is a Century home in the centre of Haliburton, Ontario. It is co-owned by myself and…

Planting 1,200 plants was daunting. Fortunately, I had two people to help me. We had it done in three days. I used a powerful drill with an auger attached. This made making holes much easier.

I did a detailed planting plan, which I mostly stuck to. The plants are in drifts and groups of up to 20 individuals, with the little bluestem grasses filling in between them. I chose plants that have a variety of blooming times, so there is always interest throughout the growing season. I used spray paint…

I ordered 1,200 plants for the garden at Lucas House from Grow Wild! native plant nursery in Omemee , Ontario. They came as plugs – so quite small. But they will grow quickly and within two years will densely cover the ground. Buying plugs is more cost-effective. They’re much cheaper than bigger plants, but soon…