Grounded Resources

Making Gardens

Native Plants and Natural Gardens 101

New here? Here are the most important articles on this website about native plant gardens and shorelines.

Myths about Native Plants and Natural Gardens

At Grounded, we hear a lot of myths about natural gardens and the native plants they host. Here’s my personal takedown of this fake news.

Your cottage landscaping is done. Now what?

Here is an advertorial about using native plants in Haliburton cottage landscaping published in the June 27, 2024 issue of The Highlander.

Natural landscaping: how to choose the right plants

Creating natural landscapes isn’t just about native plants. It’s more like playing a 4D game of Tetris. Here’s how I choose the right plants.

Weeding native plant gardens: a dance with nature

I was out weeding the native plant garden at Lucas House this week, before it got too hot. Just an hour later, I felt 100 times better.

Two very different Haliburton native plant landscapes

Here are two Haliburton native plant landscapes Grounded has installed this past month. One is a dry prairie-style garden on a septic leach bed, the other is a shade garden on a steep slope.

Deer and native plants: Will your garden get eaten?

There is no such thing as a totally deer-resistant plant. But native plants have a better chance of being nibble-free than most.

My most important advice about your natural garden

When I install a new garden, I provide a handbook, explaining the plants in the garden and how to manage the garden in the future. Of all the advice in the handbook, this is the most important.

Native Plant Landscaping: Getting Started in Haliburton

We explore the benefits of native plant landscaping in Haliburton and how to get started at your home or cottage.

Ecological Landscaping in Haliburton County: New Guide Tells You What You Need to Know

This new guide from Haliburton County Master Gardeners provides an excellent overview of what ecological landscaping is – and how you can transform your landscape into something that’s beautiful to you and to the rest of nature.

Growing a Green Renaissance

When the landscape you inherit isn’t yours

Sometimes the gap between mowed lawn and thick forest becomes unbearable.

When the trees fell

Trees mean something to us. They also mean something to those who come after us.

Something’s missing but I don’t know what

Sometimes there’s a hunger that only leaves can fix.

Yes, weeding can be a pleasure

What if taking care of your landscape was like visiting an old friend?

The wintergreen on the shoreline

How a small, green leaf showed me how to relate to a shoreline.

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.

Five Quiet Recognitions

Do any of these feel familiar?

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.

Bringing Back Biodiversity

Filling a hole in the forest

Imposing our will on nature results in struggle at best, disaster at worst.

Land heals but it doesn’t go back

What happens when the builders leave.

Doing it for me, benefiting us all

Beavers change landscapes and create biodiversity. Can we be more like beavers?

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…

Newsletters

Natural Garden News from Grounded – August 1, 2026

Inside this edition of Natural Garden News Hurry up and stop If you want a Grounded garden… A time for planting, a time for singing Land heals but it doesn’t go back Doing it for me, benefiting us all When the trees fell New book – The Unfinished Cottage Landscape What’s going on at Lucas House The Grounded native plants ideas generator! My Haliburton Native Plant Database English Haliburton cottage garden The dirty secret about poor soils Today’s recommended reading Today’s VIP (Very…

Natural Garden News from Grounded – July 4, 2026

Inside this edition of Natural Garden News Time and song If you want a Grounded garden… Fitting in or forcing out When did the cottage become work? In ecological gardening, density is the point Haliburton native plants explained New book – The Unfinished Cottage Landscape The Grounded native plants ideas generator! My Haliburton Native Plant Database Planting the shoreline Downhill work Lawn begone! Today’s recommended reading Today’s VIP (Very Important Plant) I hope you enjoy the…

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…

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