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Landscapes as beautiful to nature as they are to you

Natural gardens and shorelines designed and installed using native plants

Can we garden for nature as well as for humans? Can we make a beautiful landscape full of native plants that have co-evolved with Ontario's insects and birds? Can we see the world from the perspective of everything in it, not just through our own eyes? And can we leave our small patch of the planet a little bit better?

Why you'll feel good when you garden for life

A better future lies just outside your door.

Imagine no more mowing. No more fertilizing. Much less watering. Instead, you'll have a garden alive with butterflies and birds that changes month by month, season by season.

With the world facing a biodiversity crisis, it's hard to know what to do. The problem seems so big. One answer is to act where you can: close to home, healing the world one garden at a time.

Most importantly, you'll feel a deeper connection with your home and the land you live on. You'll be at the vanguard of humanity's rediscovered healthy relationship with the rest of nature.

Get a free guide to natural gardens and shorelines

Cover of Grounded's free booklet about natural gardens and shorelines in Haliburton County and surrounding areas.Fill out the form to get a free guide to creating natural gardens and shorelines in Haliburton County and surrounding areas, plus Grounded's popular newsletter.

"Great job on your newsletter! Well researched, fact based recommendations with excellent resources. Looking forward to more!" - Rita D.

 

Serving Haliburton County and surrounding areas

Including Kawartha Lakes, Muskoka and Hastings

Lawn Replacement and Native Plant Gardens

By admin | January 23, 2024

Lawns, long a symbol of garden perfection, have environmental and psychological implications. Transform your garden into a landscape that benefits you – and nature.

Shoreline Naturalization

By admin | January 23, 2024

Haliburton County’s lakes are its lifeblood, and healthy lakes require healthy shorelines. We can help bring your shoreline back to life.

Septic System Landscaping

By admin | January 23, 2024

Don’t know what to do with your septic bed? Using it for a native plant garden is a great way to combine functionality and natural beauty.

About Simon Payn

My name is Simon Payn and I help people transform their boring lawns into gardens that are beautiful for wildlife as well as for humans.

Sometimes it takes five decades of life to figure out your calling. Now I've discovered it. Fascinated by nature and gardens as a child, finally I've found a way to combine both, and to do our part to fix the biodiversity crisis the world is facing. Now my hands are in the soil ad my head is in native plants.

I've taken several courses with the University of Guelph, including one on naturalizing urban landscapes. And I've created a demonstration native plant garden in downtown Haliburton.

Gardens that please nature as well as humans are the future. Not only do they save hours of mowing and maintenance, but they create an ecosystem rich in invertebrates, birds and mammals. These types of gardens help us do our bit to fix our broken relationship with nature, and I want to bring them to the Haliburton Highlands.

Philosophical background

Snubsta

  • Each day is a meditation on the beauty and wonder that surround us. Most of all, it's about love. Read more here.

What is Grounded?

Education

University of Guelph

  • Naturalizing and Restoring Landscapes
  • Plant Identification
  • Business Principles in Horticulture

NDAL

  • Ecology-based Landscape Practice

Kelly D Norris

  • New Naturalism Academy

The Garden at Lucas House in Haliburton

One century building.
One fewer lawn.
One Grounded garden.

Making Natural Gardens and Shorelines

Forest naturalization in Haliburton County

Life on the Edge: An Enhanced Forest Clearing

By admin | September 23, 2024

Sometimes it’s not so much about starting afresh, it’s about enhancing what you already have. This is how we’re working to make something that’s already great… even better – for humans and for nature.

Discover the landscape design of Piet Oudolf

By admin | August 30, 2024

Piet Oudolf is a pioneer in naturalistic landscaping. And he’s a big inspiration for us here at Grounded. Here is a book that celebrates him.

advertorial from The Highlander on How to landscape like nature does.

How to Landscape Like Nature Does

By admin | August 29, 2024

How does naturalistic landscaping differ from traditional landscaping? The answer: more plants, in layers, and in a community.

Growing a Green Renaissance

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

Finding Joy in Nature and in Native Plants

By admin | August 16, 2024

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

By admin | July 30, 2024

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

By admin | July 5, 2024

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

Bringing Back Biodiversity

Why Succession is Key to Naturalistic Landscape Design in Haliburton County

By admin | December 5, 2024

“Arrested succession” is the secret to creating beautiful and biodiverse landscapes. It’s one of the most important things in my toolkit. What is succession? As you might have learned at school, succession is an ecological process: the development of a plant and animal community over time. After land is disturbed, a community of plants and…

Goldenrod: The Myths and the Facts

By admin | September 13, 2024

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

By admin | September 12, 2024

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…

Get in touch

If you'd like to talk about Grounded gardens, please contact Simon Payn.

hello@groundedgardens.ca

Grounded
123 Maple Ave.
Box 261,
Haliburton, ON  K0M 1S0

Get a free guide to natural gardens and shorelines

Fill out the form to get a free guide to creating natural gardens in Haliburton County and surrounding areas, plus Grounded's popular newsletter.

"Great job on your newsletter! Well researched, fact based recommendations with excellent resources. Looking forward to more!" - Rita D.