Grounded Resources
Making Gardens
How native shrubs create living landscapes
Perennials get all the attention, but native shrubs are the workhorses, providing structure, creating habitat and solving problems.
Why texture is key to a shaded garden
A look inside a new project where texture and form create interest and beauty in a shaded site.
What’s Stopping Us Using Native Plants?
Why it’s often hard to use native plants – and how Grounded is making it easier.
Transforming your landscape bit by bit
How traditional landscape maintenance services could have an ecological twist as you slowly transform your property.
How to design natural gardens with a more formal look
How to bridge the gap between formal, traditional landscaping and naturalistic designs using native plants.
The Gentle Rebellion at the Heart of Natural Gardens
How “orderly frames” help us engage with the landscape and “messy middles” make it truly beautiful.
Design Your Cottage Landscape with the Mystery of a Savanna
How to use native plants to enhance the view between your cottage and the lake.
Try These Native Plants to Solve Those Thorny Problems
Some plants are useful. But they can also do more harm than good. Here are some native alternatives.
How to Make a Beautiful Landscape in the Shade
Shade doesn’t have to be about hostas and ferns. Instead, how about a sedge meadow?
Why Natural Gardens are (by Nature) Lower Maintenance
How we follow nature to create landscapes that mostly look after themselves.
Growing a Green Renaissance
Yes, weeding can be a pleasure
What if taking care of your landscape was like visiting an old friend?
What I learned from a song sparrow one summer
Or why noticing is the beginning of a journey that leads to action.
The less you control, the better it feels
Why our landscapes make weekends stressful and how a different kind of care fixes that.
Nature is good. Let’s have more of it
If you live in the Highlands, it’s likely you love nature. So let’s have more of it… and here’s what happens when we do.
Biggest Haliburton Natural Garden Questions Answered
I was interviewed by Canoe FM for a new show that will be launched in January 2026. Here are my answers.
Trapped on society’s mowercoaster ride: why lawns are an invisible cage
If we don’t have a neatly trimmed lawn, we can feel like we don’t fit in. How can we break free of this invisible cage?
Shifting Baselines: The Legacy We Leave
We’ve forgotten how much nature we’ve lost. Now ‘lake legacy leaders’ are bringing it back and leaving something for our children.
Bringing Back Biodiversity
Fitting in or forcing out?
Invasive plants are just doing what invasive plants do. But is that what we want?
Can’t live, if living is without you
How plants and animals are here for each other, even if they don’t realize it.
The landscape where everyone’s a winner
No plant is an island. Together, they make a community where every individual benefits every other.
A new go-to book if you love Haliburton’s nature
If you like Haliburton Highlands nature and want to discover more of it, I highly recommend this book.
Your land isn’t messy, it’s getting going
Ecological gardens don’t look perfect right away. But what looks messy to some is a successful landscape establishing.
How much of a pond is beaver?
When does a tree end and the forest begin? How much of a pond is beaver? What percentage of me is me? Big questions… and important for landscaping ecologically.
Why cottage landscapes are all about edges
What if the defining feature of a Highlands landscape is the edge? We sit here in the Land Between, that biodiverse strip at the very south of the Canadian Shield. It’s one big edge where rock meets lowlands. Zoom in on our homes and cottages, and you see more edges. There’s the edge between the…
What the 30-metre shoreline buffer really means
The 30-metre shoreline buffer recommendation makes most cottage owners throw up their hands. Here’s where that number comes from – and what it actually means for your property.
On hydro, roads, beavers… and you
Not all disturbance is bad. Here’s what we can learn from hydro, roads… and beavers.
Why Succession is Key to Naturalistic Landscape Design in Haliburton County
“Arrested succession” is the secret to creating beautiful and biodiverse landscapes. It’s one of the most important things in my toolkit.
Newsletters
Natural Garden News from Grounded – June 6, 2026
Inside this edition of Natural Garden News The Home Show must go on If you want a Grounded garden… The landscape where everyone’s a winner Native plants and deer Something is missing but I don’t know what Can’t live, if living is without you New book – The Unfinished Cottage Landscape Yes, the mosquitos are back Catch our new show on Canoe My Haliburton Native Plant Database That’s a lot of plants! Today’s recommended reading Today’s VIP (Very Important Plant) I hope you enjoy the…
Natural Garden News from Grounded – May 2, 2026
Inside this edition of Natural Garden News H2…oh If you want a Grounded garden… Why patience comes in shades of brown The wintergreen on the shoreline Haliburton shoreline naturalization What I learned from a song sparrow one summer New book – The Unfinished Cottage Landscape The new go-to book if you love Haliburton County’s nature Catch our new show on Canoe Nigel Dunnett Today’s recommended reading Today’s VIP (Very Important Plant) I hope you enjoy the newsletter! If you have any…
Natural Garden News from Grounded – April 4, 2026
Inside this edition of Natural Garden News Slow gardening If you want a Grounded garden… Gardening with cute, hungry deer The septic bed and the sleeping bee The gardening that looks like wandering The less you control, the better it feels New book – The Unfinished Cottage Landscape Vernacular plantings Catch our new show on Canoe Postcard from London Freeze frames Today’s recommended reading Today’s VIP (Very Important Plant) I hope you enjoy the newsletter! If you have any questions or…
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