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 feedback, please reply to this email.
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Simon Payn
Grounded
Email: hello@groundedgardens.ca
Web: groundedgardens.ca
Slow gardening
I interviewed Rick Whittaker for the podcast the other week. He’s publishing a book about Haliburton County’s nature. I’ll let you know when it’s available.
One thing struck me: he talked about going slowly through nature.
So I thought I’d try it on my trip to the UK, walking along the North Norfolk coast. And you know what? It transforms the experience.
When we go fast, we’re focused on the destination. We don’t see what’s around us.
When we go slow, a new experience opens up. We notice things – bees, tiny flowers, birds. It’s like we’re in a different place, our experience is so transformed.
Sounds simple. But in today’s rushed world, it’s not as simple as it appears.
It’s how I’ll be stewarding my gardens this year.
Simon
If you want a Grounded garden…
I’m currently booking garden and shoreline installs (and management services) for summer and fall 2026.
We start by having a quick call to see if it makes sense for me to come look at your site in the spring.
To see some of my recent work, please see this page.
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Gardening with cute, hungry deer
Our gardens offer everything a deer could ever possibly want. So what do we do with the deer we attract? Read more.
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The septic bed and the sleeping bee
What my septic bed is teaching me about feeling at home. Read more.
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The gardening that looks like wandering
Why the design process isn’t done when the plants are put in the ground. (And why that’s a pleasant thing.) Read more.
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The less you control, the better it feels
Why our landscapes make weekends stressful and how a different kind of care fixes that. Read more.
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The Unfinished Cottage Landscape
I’ve written a short book about my way of landscaping.
The Unfinished Cottage Landscape is about what happens when you stop fighting the land and start noticing what it’s already doing.
It’s for anyone who has ever sighed getting out of the car on a Friday evening, looking at what still needs to be done. And for anyone who suspects there might be a different way.
Click the button below to add your name to the list to get your own copy for a steep discount and free shipping.
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Vernacular plantings
Here’s a filled-in doorway in North Norfolk, UK. The buildings in these parts use flint – because that is what is available. It’s vernacular architecture. The result is that everything fits.
Maybe this approach sounds familiar?
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