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.
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.
Bringing Back Biodiversity
Filling a hole in the forest
Imposing our will on nature results in struggle at best, disaster at worst.
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…
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