Grounded Resources

Making Gardens

A Different Kind of Beauty: Discovering Gardens in the Off-Season

As autumn’s vibrant palette fades and winter’s chill sets in, traditional gardeners often see this as a cue to ‘put the garden to bed.’ This usually involves tidying up, cutting back dead foliage, and preparing for a dormant season. However, native plant gardens challenge this conventional approach, revealing a different kind of beauty in the fall and winter months – one that is not only visually appealing but also ecologically significant.

Inspired by Nature, Crafted by Hands: The Essence of Native Gardens

Native plant gardens stand as testaments to the beauty and complexity of nature. These gardens offer a unique fusion of natural splendor and human artistry. Unlike their wild counterparts, native gardens are carefully crafted spaces, reflecting the delicate interplay between natural ecosystems and human intervention.

Image of Canada Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis) showing its wheat-like seed head.

Exploring the Groundcover Layer: Native Grasses and Sedges in Haliburton Gardens

The secret to vibrant and ecologically balanced gardens often lies hidden in plain sight: within the groundcover layer. These unassuming plants play a pivotal role in the structure and sustainability of native plant gardens, providing an ecological foundation that supports biodiversity.

Native Plants and Garden Herbivores: A Delicate Dance

Gardeners often find themselves engaged in a delicate dance with local wildlife, particularly deer and rabbits. These garden visitors, while charming, can pose significant challenges to cultivation efforts.

Natural, Not Neglected: The Art of Managing Naturalized Gardens

Often hailed as a low-maintenance alternative to traditional lawns, native plant gardens are sometimes mistakenly thought of as no-maintenance. However, naturalized gardens require a unique form of care — a harmonious blend of management and stewardship that respects nature’s rhythms while gently guiding its course.

Lawn Be Gone: Pros and Cons of Various Lawn Removal Techniques

As environmental awareness grows, many homeowners are considering removing their lawns in favor of more sustainable, diverse landscapes. Explore the various lawn removal techniques, each with its own set of pros and cons.

Native Plants: You Don’t Have to Be a Purist to Make a Difference

A common belief persists that embracing native plants means adopting a purist, all-or-nothing approach. However, flexibility and balance can be achieved by integrating native plants without the need for purism.

Nurturing Nature: Why Native Plants are a Gardener’s Best Friend

As gardeners seek more sustainable, eco-friendly, and visually striking landscapes, native plants are stepping into the spotlight. Long overlooked in favour of more exotic species, native plants are now being recognized for their remarkable benefits and beauty.

Redefining Beauty: The Aesthetics of Naturalized Gardens

As we venture deeper into the 21st century, a question arises: Are we ready to redefine what beauty means in the context of a garden?

Gardening Redefined: The Matrix Approach to Harmonious Landscapes

Matrix gardening, an innovative method merging ecological sustainability with aesthetic elegance, is reshaping our interaction with outdoor spaces. This approach offers a harmonious blend of nature’s spontaneity and human design.

Growing a Green Renaissance

Person mowing large expanse of lawn

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?

Child in nature

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.

How to Create a Landscape that Belongs Here

To make your home truly belong in its surroundings, the finishing touch comes from thoughtful planting choices, creating a natural connection to the local environment.

Child standing by natural shoreline with native plants.

Transform your shoreline, transform your legacy

Natural shorelines increase property value, protect water quality, and create a meaningful legacy. The new standard in cottage ownership is working with nature.

Me as a child

In praise of more

The new method of landscaping is about having more nature. And that makes us happy.

Screenshot of advertorial in the Highlander, titled Here is where the joy starts.

Finding Joy in Nature and in Native Plants

Why finding the joy in nature is the key to developing interest in native plants. A local gardener is calling for more joy in our Highlands landscapes. Simon Payn, who owns Haliburton-based ecological landscaping company Grounded, says it’s time to ramp up the pleasure we get from our gardens and shorelines. “For so long, the…

Article in The Highlander on Haliburton cottage shorelines

My Haliburton Cottage Shoreline Helped Me Through Covid

Haliburton cottage shorelines do more than keep the lake healthy. The nature they attract keeps us feeling good too.

The cover of Garden Revolution, by Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher.

Gardening for the environment: ecological landscapes beautiful to us and nature

A look inside the book Garden Revolution, a beautiful inspiration for those of us who want to garden for the environment.

Native Plants Are Messy: Is That True?

Native plant gardens are messy. That’s the number one claim that people such as myself face. But are natural landscapes really an unruly tangle?

Nature’s Echo: Rediscovering Human Identity through Native Gardening

The deep, intrinsic connection with the natural world, once the bedrock of human existence, has been eroded by the pursuit of progress and convenience. This disconnection has not just scarred our planet; it has left an indelible mark on our very sense of self. Amidst this backdrop of alienation, native gardening emerges not just as a horticultural practice, but as a beacon of hope, a pathway to rediscover our true identity and reclaim our place in the natural world.

Bringing Back Biodiversity

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.

Goldenrod: The Myths and the Facts

Goldenrods face two cases of mistaken identity. Let’s clear up the mess and celebrate a valuable species.

bebb's sedge

Sedges for Haliburton, Muskoka and Kawartha Lakes

Sedges don’t get much glory. They’re everywhere in Haliburton, Muskoka and Kawartha Lakes but we seldom notice them. If we do notice them, we often confuse them with grasses. It’s time to shine a light on the genus Carex. Sedge Basics What Sedges Are The Morphology of Sedges Their Habitat and Distribution Their Ecological Importance…

Copy of the book, The Flora of Kawartha Lakes

Kawartha Lakes native plants: New guide gives detailed lists

The Flora of Kawartha Lakes, which lists plants native to the region, is also relevant to Haliburton County’s flora.

Misty shoreline in Haliburton County

Haliburton Shoreline Naturalization: Better for the Lake, Better for You

An in-depth look at shoreline naturalization for Haliburton County cottages: why it’s important and how to do it.

It’s OK to mow in May − the best way to help pollinators is by adding native plants

If you are interested in supporting pollinators, it is important to consider the ecological context of your yard – and #NoMowMay may not be an effective strategy.

Milkweed and monarch butterly.

From Pollinators to Whole Ecosystems: Expanding Our Gardening Focus

In recent years, the surge in popularity of pollinator gardens has been a heartening development for environmental enthusiasts and gardeners alike. These gardens, teeming with bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, have become symbols of ecological awareness and conservation. Yet, as we delve deeper into the realms of sustainable gardening, a broader perspective emerges, one that considers not only pollinators but the entire ecosystem.

Leave the dead plant stems!

With this scarily warm weather we’ve been having, it’s tempting to get out there and do a bit of tidying up in the garden. Please wait!

Connecting Nature: Building Wildlife Corridors with Urban Native Gardens

In the heart of urban landscapes, where concrete often overshadows greenery, wildlife corridors serve as critical lifelines. These green passages, created through thoughtful planting of native gardens, provide a refuge for urban wildlife, connecting isolated natural habitats.

Native Gardens: Your Personal Contribution to Fighting Biodiversity Loss

In the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, feelings of helplessness are common. Yet, there is a powerful tool within our reach to combat these global challenges: native plant gardening. This practice not only offers environmental benefits but also empowers individuals to make a tangible difference.

Newsletters

Natural Garden News from Grounded – September 20, 2025

Inside this edition of Natural Garden News Leaf them bee If you want a Grounded garden… Sunny landscapes that attract pollinators Lawns: the invisible cage Natural landscaping for condos and homeowner associations New here? Start with these articles Project catch-up 1 Check out our new native plant database Ready to fly Today’s recommended reading Project catch-up 2 Today’s VIP (Very Important Plant) Project catch-up 3 I hope you enjoy the newsletter! If you have any questions or feedback,…

Natural Garden News from Grounded – September 6, 2025

Inside this edition of Natural Garden News Drying Miss Daisy If you want a Grounded garden… How shrubs create living landscapes Shifting baselines: the legacy we leave New here? Start with these articles Project catch-ups Check out our new native plant database Power plants Today’s recommended reading Brown is a colour, too Today’s VIP (Very Important Plant) Je l’adore! I hope you enjoy the newsletter! If you have any questions or feedback, please reply to this email. There are lots of…

Natural Garden News from Grounded – August 23, 2025

Inside this edition of Natural Garden News End of summer notes If you want a Grounded garden… Why texture is key to a shaded garden What’s stopping us using native plants? New here? Start with these articles Cardinals rule Check out our new native plant database A river runs through it (too often) Today’s recommended reading Gotcha! Today’s VIP (Very Important Plant) Onion says yes I hope you enjoy the newsletter! If you have any questions or feedback, please reply to this email. There are…

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