Our most popular workshop - Design Your Own Shoreland Garden with The Land Between-- and now with Watersheds Canada too!
Your shoreland can be natural but also beautiful, while maintaining access to the lake and great lake views. Attract butterflies and pollinators. Help your lake’s fish habitats and water quality. Deter nuisance geese. Increase privacy…All while supporting our healthy ecosystems for future generations. Come to this workshop and take home a custom garden design for your shore using native plants which are tailored to your aesthetic and your needs! Join seasoned experts with over 20 years’ experience in naturalizing, restoring, and designing shoreland gardens across Ontario.
These workshops are in a classroom setting, but during Covid 19 the lessons will be through Zoom.
Have pictures of your shore ready with a focus on the riparian edge/shoreline.
Hear about why your shore is significant to the health of the lake and why your choices are important. Learn about plants, design aspects, lighting effects. Choose colours, heights, areas and more. Landowners can also take part in case studies here, to learn from other examples.
Workshop topics include:
- permits
- native plants
- increasing biodiversity and functions (pollinators, birds, fish habitat improvement etc.)
- invasive species
- nuisance goose control
- limiting nutrient runoff
- erosion considerations
- plant species preferences
- design aesthetics
- step-by-step design
*Please note that erosion control may be discussed at sessions, but erosion control designs will not be developed in these workshops. Instead they will require onsite site visits.
Register by viewing our events page
Book a Shoreland Garden/Natural Edge onsite consultation with us!
Book a site visit for $400.00 and receive a full naturalization plan to suit your style and aesthetic as well as your needs, as well as a selection of free plants to get you started. Site visits may include a mileage fee to cover our costs to get to you.
During the site visit we will consult with you about colour choices, areas of issue and concern, and needs. After the site visit you will receive your plan via email . The site visit also entitles you to a choice of 50 free native flowers or 10 native shrubs. You can pick up the shrubs at the TLB field office. Otherwise there may be a small fee to get them to you.
If you decide to plant more according to the naturalization plan, we will order plants for you through our wholesale greenhouse contacts and you can pick up your plants at the TLB field office. Should you wish the plants to be delivered a fee will be applied.
Want us to plant your shore? We charge $5/plant and a mileage fee may be applied to cover our costs to your shore.
Book a site visit and shoreland design consult here
Our Shoreland Garden Workshops have made the news! Read about them in the Muskoka and Haliburton Life Magazine! Haliburton and Muskoka Life Magazine. Shoreland Garden Editorial
Even local groups come to us for advice!
Abbey Gardens restoration ecology staff have attended our workshop in Haliburton and took away lessons in deterring geese, soil science and design expertise for public and private sites. Our staff/contractors have designed keystone shoreland gardens and goose deterrent projects for: Halls/Hawk Lake park in Algonquin Highlands; Rivera Park in Lindsay; Big Bald Lake Association; for Mr. Paul McIinnis' property, president of the Coalition of Haliburton Property Owners Associations (pictures below) frequently showcased publicly as a demonstration site; at Head Lake in Dysart et al and for Haliburton Lake Association's Public Beach; and many private contractors too...
Landowners learn and have fun too!
"I was expecting a dry presentation, cold hard facts, but you added such colour, your enthusiasm was evident, your energy palpable. I thoroughly enjoyed myself! And I learned stuff!!!!" Sharon Petrini, Haliburton County
"Thank you Leora for Saturday's workshop. My husband and I both found it informative. We came away with some great ideas on how we can both beautify and naturalize our shoreland property."
"If you have not heard enough praise for the Friday Workshop I will add it was amazing, & I think I learned a lot. It seems my long held convictions of 58 years are being challenged everywhere. The more I learn the more I know I do not know very much!" Terry Goodwin, Haliburton
We look forward to working with you to preserve the health and well-being of your lake and the Land Between bioregion.
Check out our resources to support your journey to a native garden:
Design Your Own Shoreland Garden Instruction Video
Design Your Own Shoreland Garden Guidebook and Plant Lists
Thank you to TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for their support in creating these guides and resources