Inside this edition of Natural Garden News
- A message of joy and hope
- New book about ecological landscaping in the Highlands
- My list of books, articles and other helpful resources
- Today’s recommended reading
- Today’s VIP (Very Important Plant)
- Right now in Haliburton County
- From the socials
I hope you enjoy the newsletter! If you have any questions or feedback, please reply to this email.
Simon Payn
Grounded
Email: hello@groundedgardens.ca
Web: groundedgardens.ca
Follow Grounded on the socials!
A message of joy and hope
Today’s introduction will start a little gloomy but it will end on a positive, hopeful note. Please stick with me as this message is important.
Here’s the gloomy stuff. I read in The Guardian this week that climate scientists believe we will blast past the 1.5C target because we’re not doing enough to fight climate change.
Second, Facebook brought back a “memory” from ten years ago. It was a post where I said bugs were splattering on my windshield like it was raining. I got to thinking: that doesn’t happen much anymore, does it?
We all know the mess we’re in with the climate and biodiversity. You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t care about it. But we also feel powerless.
I think that powerless feeling can lead us to put our heads in the sand and try to forget about it. Otherwise we’d be wracked by fear and guilt. The trouble is, when we do that, we fall into a kind of cognitive dissonance: deep down we know we need to be concerned but we’re trying not to feel it.
The reason I quit my previous job to launch Grounded was because I stumbled upon a way to do something about it in a very direct way. Creating natural gardens and planting native plants isn’t going to change the world all by itself, but it changes my small part of the world.
I want the garden at Lucas House to be a source of joy and inspiration. I hope each natural landscape I create will be another source. Each of these small landscapes adds up, each helps spread the message, and each is a seed of hope… and of power.
You don’t need to start big. One plant will do. This week I noticed one of the Wild Strawberries I planted at Lucas House was blooming, and on that little white flower was a pollinator, head in the yellow pollen.
That brought a spike of joy and hope. It was more than enough to get me through the day.
Simon
P.S. I will have native plants for sale at from “The Chicken Run” at the back of Lucas House starting the May long weekend. Reply to this message and I’ll give you the list of what will be available.
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New Book about Ecological Landscaping in the Highlands
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. Read more and find out how to get your own copy.
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My list of books, articles and other helpful resources
Here are books and articles about natural gardens and landscapes I’ve found essential reading. I’ll keep the list updated with any new stuff I can. Read more.
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