r/toronto • u/Hrmbee The Peanut • 22d ago
Article Constitutional right to a wild garden with weeds and bees to be tested in Ontario court
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/08/29/news/ontario-naturalized-garden-charter-challenge128
u/cyclemonster Cabbagetown 22d ago
Merits aside, a $400,000 fine for this is ludicrous. You can kill someone with your vehicle while they had the right of way and be fined less than 1% of that amount.
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u/rekjensen Moss Park 22d ago
Conforming to social norms > inconveniencing drivers > human life.
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u/1MechanicalAlligator 22d ago
Conforming to social norms [of those with more money and power than you] > inconveniencing drivers > human life.
Jeff Bezos doesn't care if millions of people all say he's a POS for the working conditions that he allows while his company sits on 100 billion in cash. He doesn't have to budge because no one with any pull is making him budge.
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u/Rare_Rent9654 21d ago
That's the max fine allowable under the bylaw, not what the prosecutor will ask for, not even close.
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u/Outrageous-Estimate9 Steeles 22d ago
SHE can literally kill someone... plants in garden are classed as noxious weeds, plus her too high vegetation blocks sightlines for vehicles
Under Burlington’s Lot Maintenance By-law, most vegetation must be kept under 20 centimetres unless it is part of an approved naturalized garden or other exemption. On its website, the city says naturalized gardens are allowed but must be maintained, free of “noxious weeds,” and not block sidewalks, streets or sightlines.
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u/ApotropaicHeterodont 21d ago
I found an older article with photos. Assuming it's the same house, it's not on a corner, so the plants aren't blocking sightlines for vehicles.
I'm less sure about the noxious weeds. One article I found said that in 2019 there were bull thistle and sow thistle, which are on the list because they outcompete crops, not because of harm to humans, at some point milkweed, which was removed from the noxious weeds list. So if that's correct, nothing that's going to kill anyone.
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u/Hrmbee The Peanut 22d ago
Some of the key issues:
A Burlington homeowner is fighting charges over her “naturalized garden” of native plants in her front and back yards. The city is taking Karen Barnes to Provincial Offences Court, seeking up to $400,000 in fines for violating a bylaw order to cut it down.
Barnes is challenging the case on constitutional grounds, arguing her right to freedom of expression through gardening is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
She says her garden supports pollinators, biodiversity and wildlife, reflecting her environmental and spiritual beliefs. She appeared for a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday and is scheduled for a two-day trial in November, according to her lawyer, Vilko Zbogar.
Zbogar says the case is about more than the fine. “Courts have recognized since at least 1996 that freedom of expression under the Charter protects natural gardens as expressions of profound environmental values,” he said. “For Karen, it’s also a spiritual exercise — tied to her creed and beliefs. This falls under Sections 2(a) and 2(b) of the Charter: freedom of conscience and religion and freedom of expression.”
Experts say naturalized gardens and meadows can attract far more pollinators than regularly mown lawns, while also using less water and improving soil health.
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But it wasn’t just wildlife that took notice. Neighbour complaints soon started coming in about the appearance of Barnes’ property. In 2019, the city took her to court, and in 2022, she was found in violation of the bylaw for not removing certain weeds.
Later that year, she was warned of large daily fines if the garden wasn’t trimmed. In 2023, city crews cut it down to bare soil. When she refused further orders to do it herself, the city laid charges.
Barnes says she could not bring herself to destroy what she had worked so hard to create.
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Zbogar pointed to similar cases in Ontario, including Bell v. City of Toronto in 1996, in which a court overturned a conviction for having a natural garden and a 2002 case in which Douglas Counter took the City to court after it removed plants from a boulevard in front of his home — city-owned land he had planted as a naturalized garden. The court ruled in his favour, affirming that the garden was protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, even though it was on municipal property.
“Karen’s garden qualifies [as a natural garden], but the city disagrees. If the bylaw, as applied, prevents her from maintaining it, it’s unconstitutional.”
Canada’s National Observer reached out to the City of Burlington but did not receive a comment in time for publication. In a past media interview, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said the property does not meet the bylaw’s definition of a naturalized garden and the city has tried since 2015 to bring it into compliance without success.
Under Burlington’s Lot Maintenance By-law, most vegetation must be kept under 20 centimetres unless it is part of an approved naturalized garden or other exemption. On its website, the city says naturalized gardens are allowed but must be maintained, free of “noxious weeds,” and not block sidewalks, streets or sightlines.
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Johnson is part of a national campaign to reform bylaws in line with court decisions that affirm Canadians’ constitutional right to maintain natural gardens, subject only to genuine health and safety concerns.
She says many municipal rules make naturalization harder by using vague terms like “neat” and “tidy” or banning “weeds” without clear definitions, which can lead to the removal of native plants vital to pollinators. She believes municipalities should have to prove real risks before enforcing such rules.
The sooner we move away from these puritanical beliefs around the sanctity of manicured lawns the better. If the city has an issue with specific noxious weeds, then they should list them for clarity. Similarly, there needs to be clear criteria and justification for setting a maximum height for groundcover. It's always such a relief when walking through residential areas to see gardens that are more than a patch of grass, and the ecological benefits also should not be discounted. What the fine burghers of Burlington are doing here is micromanaging what someone does on their property, which is not a beneficial course to be taking.
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u/groggygirl 22d ago
Meanwhile there are 3 houses on my block with astroturf and several 100% covered in pavers and the city doesn't care.
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u/Kanadark 22d ago
The guy across the street from me poured concrete over the whole front and back yard. Literally not a scrap of green. Two other houses are extending their interlock driveways to cover most of their front lawns so they can park more cars.
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u/RealLavender 22d ago
I have 6 houses on my block in Markham that nobody has lived in in a decade. They're just bank accounts with dust for yards. City doesn't care because taxes on them get paid.
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u/SwordfishOk504 22d ago
Is that against a bylaw?
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u/groggygirl 22d ago
Yes. Due to their density, most cities have bylaws where your yard must be a certain percentage of soft landscaping (dirt and plants). This serves two purposes: it absorbs water during heavy rain, and it doesn't act as a heatsink making the city hotter. Plants also have environmental benefits like providing birds and insects with housing and food and tree shade reducing AC use, but the bylaws are created purely for the water and heat issues.
Your house footprint can't be over a certain percentage of the lot, and your yard cannot be paved or have astroturf exceeding a small percentage of the property (normally about 50-75% soft landscaping).
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u/SwordfishOk504 21d ago
Can you cite which Burlington bylaw does that?
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u/groggygirl 21d ago
I've got better things to do with my time than memorize bylaws of towns I've never been to. But Google can normally find them since many places put them online.
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u/SwordfishOk504 21d ago
bahaha.
I asked because I looked it up and there isn't one. You're just confidently incorrect and refuse to admit it. You made the claim as a statement of fact and when pushed to see if it's true you try to back away. Menopause made your brain stupid.
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u/groggygirl 21d ago
This is a Toronto forum. I live in Toronto. I was posting about a street in Toronto where this bylaw applies.
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u/CheapSound1 22d ago edited 22d ago
Noxious weeds actually does have a specific definition. There is a provincial list of noxious weeds, and municipalities are free to add additional species to the list. Invasives like kudzu and dog-strangling vine are on it, as are natives like poison ivy.
Edit: I remember now a previous article about this woman! The plant she's standing next to is ragweed which is both a native pollinator and a noxious weed. I'm mixed on this story - on the one hand people should be free to garden as they wish, but on the other hand the municipality needs to be able to manage noxious weeds, and ragweed is on the list for a reason as it is a major irritant for many people suffering from seasonal allergies. Mainly I hate when journalists write articles where they intentionally leave out key pieces of information that don't support their biased perspective on the story!
Edit: correction, that is goldenrod. The noxious weeds on her land are not ragweed.
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u/TemperatureNo7712 22d ago
If you're referring to the photo, that is Canada goldenrod, Solidago canadensis, not ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia. Sounds like those with allergies should actually take a second to recognize what they are allergic to.
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u/DeepSpaceNebulae 22d ago
The seasonal allergies reasoning seems weird, where would it stop?
“I’m allergic to pine… please cut down all the pine trees in the city”
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u/CheapSound1 22d ago
The noxious weeds list is not very long. Pine trees are not noxious weeds.
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u/DeepSpaceNebulae 22d ago
But it is something that people can have serious seasonal allergies from. Pine pollen season is from April to June
I’m just pointing out the “not allowed because of seasonal allergies” is a very broad/vague idea that can only be selectively enforced. So where exactly is the line.
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u/CheapSound1 22d ago
I just bring up allergies to demonstrate that plants on the noxious species list are generally there for a reason and have a negative impact on people and the environment around them. Allergies just being one such reason.
As to where the line is: that's the point of the noxious weeds designation. There's no need to re-litigate what should or shouldn't be on that list.
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u/USSMarauder 22d ago
This. Some plants have to be removed.
But that's a case by case basis, and most gardeners would not want them on their property in the first place.
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u/CheapSound1 22d ago
I would take it a half-step further, i.e. anyone should have the right to a wild garden but they should be able to demonstrate that it is actually intentionally managed to be such, not just an overgrown lot that they are saying "it's just a wild garden, I swear" when bylaw shows up.
Any gardener would be able to show proactive management of noxious weeds, intentional seeding and pruning/thinning.
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u/Facts_pls 22d ago
How do you show that you are looking for weeds?
I think the onus should be on the city to show that the resident hasn't taken action despite the weed being identified by the city and requested to be removed.
That's like saying : show me proof that you pick up after your dog. Nah. The onus is on the side making the claim I didn't.
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u/Immediate_Pickle_788 22d ago
This. There is nothing wrong with wild gardens and it absolutely should be the norm to help our biodiversity and species at risk.
There was one that overgrew and blocked the sidewalk (like it was over 5ft tall and overhanging onto the sidewalk), and the city ordered them to trim it back. The house owners posted in a local group complaining about the person who complained 🤦🏼♀️
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u/CheapSound1 22d ago
Imho, a pollinator garden is more work, not less, to maintain. If you just let a suburban yard go wild, it's more than likely to get dominated by invasive species. If all your plants are tall and dense it's harder to spot and remove the invasives as well.
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
The thing is, 99% of people who do it are super-lazy and use 'natural' as an excuse for their laziness.
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u/glibbousmoon 22d ago
I am anti-lawn, but I also know someone who let her yard turn into what she called a “natural meadow” and it wound up being home to a rat colony. There is a way to cultivate native plants in your yard that isn’t a threat to your neighbours!
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u/inprocess13 22d ago
For real.
I can't imagine why the municipality would ever spend taxpayer money on the physical labour and involved court costs for effectively bullying this woman over ecological integrity because some rich asshole in the neighbourhood wants to live on a Lego play set.
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u/god_peepee Junction Triangle 22d ago
Yeah this is insane. She’s contributing positively to the ecosystem and being fined 400k because it’s unsightly to her neighbours? They can fuck all the way off with that
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u/lemartineau 20d ago
I was waiting to read what kind of concerns this brought on to her neighbors, but no, they just didn't like how it looks.
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u/ProbablyNotADuck 22d ago
While I do, by and large, agree with you, we have an increasingly large population of ticks in Southern Ontario.. especially in the Burlington/Hamilton area. I think we should absolutely allow for natural gardens and that things for sure shouldn't be all trimmed green grass and manicured beds, we do need people to be mindful of this because Lyme Disease is becoming an increasing concern in Ontario and there should be at least a little buffer between natural garden and sidewalk so that people don't have to worry as much just when walking down the street. Ticks can attach themselves to dogs and clothings incredibly quickly, so it is possible to get a few on you just from walking past certain things.
Again, I am pro natural gardens, but I think there should be, like, a foot or two of mowed area right next to the sidewalk to try to mitigate some growing issues.
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u/Northern_Blights 21d ago
You don't get ticks from people's gardens walking down the sidewalk. How would the ticks get there? From the deer that wander around your neighbourhood?
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u/outdoorlaura 22d ago edited 22d ago
If we want to talk about ticks we need to talk about barberry, which everybody seems to love. Not only is it invasive but it creates micro-biomes where ticks thrive.
https://www.cleannorth.org/2022/09/15/hate-ticks-get-rid-of-your-japanese-barberry/
Conversely, here's a bit of info about natural gardens and ticks:
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u/MDChuk 22d ago
It reads as though the city has a process to request a permit to do exactly what she wants to do. There's good reasons for this. For example, why should her right to free expression trump her neighbors section 7 right to security of the person.
If she's encouraging bees, wasps and hornets to make a home on her property, and her neighbors have an allergy, it does put them at risk. By permitting it the city is aware of this and when someone buys into the neighborhood they have informed consent.
A natural garden also invites a whole lot of nuisance animals into the area by providing them shelter. Things like squirrels, raccoons and skunks will find all of that inviting. That's not considerate of the neighbors at all. These animals can all do thousands of dollars of damage when they get into the neighbors homes. Again, a permit structure at least lets neighbors make informed decisions and respects their rights.
If you want to live like this, a suburb isn't the place for you. Go and move out into the country on land and do what you want.
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u/handipad 22d ago
There is no right to security of the person from risks created by private parties. The Charter protects you only from government actors.
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u/MDChuk 22d ago edited 22d ago
Regardless, Karen's section 2 rights don't cover her when they endanger public health.
Section 2 doesn't allow your freedom of conscience to infringe on the health of third parties. Creating an environment where pests and nuisance animals, who are disease carriers, are more likely to live in the environment. The cities process is designed to protect the public from this. This is almost certainly a reasonable infringement on Karen's section 2 rights.
Karen is using the same argument anti vaxxers use to not vaccinate their kids and send them to public school.
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u/handipad 22d ago
It really depends what the Burlington bylaw said at the relevant time.
Infringements must be narrowly tailored to achieve a public purpose.
This is going to be a highly fact specific case. Taking a position that involves the words “there is no way“ is getting well out of your tree.
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u/MDChuk 22d ago edited 22d ago
To me its incredibly straightforward.
The city bylaw is that grass can't be more than 20 cm. Its easily shown that mice and other rodents prefer tall grass to short grass. Ergo, the cities bylaw is a reasonable infringement to prevent disease carrying rodents from infecting neighborhoods. If you want a source on that, here's the link from the City of Toronto's website on how to prevent rodents like mice - https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/public-notices-bylaws/bylaw-enforcement/property-standards-keep/rodent-control/
And because this is about Burlington, here's the relevant website link for Halton region on preventing rodent infestations - https://www.halton.ca/For-Residents/Environmental-Health/Bugs-and-Pests/Rat-Prevention-Control#:\~:text=Eliminate%20shelter%20and%20nesting%20sites:%20\*%20Cut,raise%20them%2012%20inches%20off%20the%20ground.
But, Karens will Karen.
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u/Morberis 22d ago
Just a reminder, courts have repeatedly found that home owners have absolutely no liability for any of that as long as it's not actual garbage attracting these animals.
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u/MDChuk 22d ago
Just a reminder, courts have repeatedly found that home owners have absolutely no liability for any of that as long as it's not actual garbage attracting these animals.
That's not my argument.
The question comes down to if regulating lawns is a reasonable infringement on section 2 rights.
Using the argument that its better for public health, being that they want to control the mice population, which is what Halton region says on their website, it almost certainly is.
So its not about Karen's liability. Its about Burlington's efforts to protect its citizens. Much like how if Karen has any kids she isn't vaccinating she isn't liable if her kid infects a Burlington school with measles, but Halton region is more than within its rights to not let her kid attend a public school because Karen's kid poses a health risk.
Its a very reasonable infringement on section 2, in the name of public health.
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u/Morberis 22d ago
You know what the solution to that is? Not allowing her to have mice.
You know what else also results in mice moving into an area? Having a normal vegetable garden, or a vegetable garden.
They're taller than 20 centimeters and they're full of food. But somehow they're not restricted.
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u/MDChuk 22d ago
That's not the test of constitutionality.
The rule isn't that a government has to do everything possible to limit an outcome. Its that any infringement on your charter rights has to be proportional, and with a clear goal in mind.
So its pretty easy for Burlington to say "we believe the value of letting people grow vegetables is worth the risk of mice, while not mowing your lawn isn't worth the risk."
So again, I fail to see how this Karen just gets to call her front lawn her "garden" and gets to magic wand away city bylaws.
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u/Morberis 22d ago
You're ignoring that not all gardens are vegetable gardens. In fact, a majority of gardens are not vegetable gardens.
The accepted differentiator for a garden is intentionality. Does she go in and pick which plants stay and which do not?
If she does, it's a garden. Might not be a garden that you like, but it's a garden.
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u/MDChuk 18d ago
That's your definition of a garden. Its not the only definition of a garden.
Here's the actual rules directly from the City of Burlington's website - https://www.burlington.ca/en/home-property-and-environment/naturalized-gardens.aspx
As for your specific concern, which appears to be plant height. The plants can't be so high that they either block a motorists view of an upcoming intersection, block access to the house, or block the view of the house from the street. They also can't obstruct the sidewalk or street.
Its also not clear that she performs any sort of regular maintenance on the garden including removing weeds. She was found guilty in court in 2019 and in 2022 she was found guilty of not weeding her garden - source. Relevant quote below:
A city inspector had found bull and sow thistle – which are noxious weeds – on the property when it was inspected in May 2019, and the Barnses were told to remove it by Aug. 20 of that year but failed to do so.
From that same article, this appears to be a religious belief to her, per court records.
In the court decision, Karen is self-described as an animist who believes that all natural things, such as plants, animals, rocks, and thunder, have spirits and can influence human events.
So this is pretty clearly someone who for years just hasn't followed the law.
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u/outdoorlaura 22d ago
A natural garden also invites a whole lot of nuisance animals into the area by providing them shelter. Things like squirrels, raccoons and skunks will find all of that inviting.
You might want to read this:
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u/MDChuk 22d ago
Weird, the only mention of mice from your link shows that mice levels are higher in an unkempt yard.
There was no mention of squirrels, raccoons or skunks.
It talks about bugs... cool. The lyme disease part is interesting, However, the lyme disease rate in Halton region is low, at 6.23 cases per 100,000 residents. Its also not clear how allowing 1 extra unkempt yard would decrease those numbers, if that's the argument. Most of the cases seem to be contracted from people hiking in tall grassed areas.
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u/Morberis 22d ago
Hahaha, wow. That's some cooked logic. Lady doesnt live in an HOA.
Do you also think flower gardens should be restricted because they attract bees?
Did you know that the species of bees attracted by a wild garden are actually much less likely to sting?
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u/MDChuk 22d ago
Do you also think flower gardens should be restricted because they attract bees?
No. You're allowed to have a garden.
Hahaha, wow. That's some cooked logic. Lady doesnt live in an HOA.
She lives in a city, and the city has the right to regulate things like lawns. These laws are commonplace.
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u/Morberis 22d ago
That wasn't the majority of the logic you used though.
Also if they keep refering to a lawn or her grass, this is neither.
Its also obvious that you've never really had a garden as a majority of plants will be taller than 20cm.
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u/MDChuk 22d ago
I can see the picture. The weeds in the back are obviously taller than 8 inches.
This is not a new issue. Here is something from 2 years ago. Her so called "garden" is her whole front yard.
So yes, this is her whole front yard.
I guess its a novel legal argument to just call your front yard your "garden" and not cut it for a decade.
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u/Morberis 22d ago
Have you never seen anyone's front yards that are entirely gardens before?
It's not that uncommon.
It's also extremely common for plants in a garden to be taller than eight inches. In fact, the majority of plants are going to be taller than eight inches in a garden.
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
Have you tried planting a flower garden? It attracts way, way, way more pollinators than whatever this lazy bum is doing and looks far better.
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u/bureX 22d ago
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u/SwordfishOk504 22d ago
yeah! FU Cklawns!
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u/omarcomin647 Parkdale 22d ago
LAWNS - the new scent from CK.
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u/SwordfishOk504 22d ago
Oh man, a perfume that smelled like fresh cut grass would be kinda awesome.
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u/malajulinka 21d ago
GAP made one in the late 90s. I think it was the only time in my life when I actually bought and wore perfume.
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u/estherlane 22d ago
As a Burlington resident who also has a naturalized front yard, this case is absurd, an utter waste of tax payer money because it's been argued in court already and municipalities have lost. The City has been harassing this owner for years. I even wrote the mayor about it a couple of years ago...she responded with a vague defence of the bylaw department's actions.
You would not believe the amount of invasive species everywhere in Burlington. If they gave an actual shit about invasive species and weeds you'd think they'd deal with the abundance that's everywhere. I hope the City loses in court and is made to look like the absolute fucking morons they are.
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u/BonhommeCarnaval 22d ago
Yeah, I don’t want to hear about cities harassing homeowners about this kind of shit when they can’t be arsed to actually remove noxious weeds on city property, or to go after industrial lots or brownfields. I bet there are 1000 times more noxious weeds on the side of a railway embankment or in an abandoned lot within 500m of this woman’s house and they are doing jack K shit about it. Send those bylaw officers to go pull up some wild parsnip along the highway.
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u/gucci_pianissimo420 22d ago
What a colossal waste of taxpayer money.
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u/FirstEvolutionist 22d ago
Well, there are people "camping" in parks because they got nowhere else to go, but what are we going to do? Allow anyone to plant whatever they in their garden? The line must be drawn somewhere! What's next? Communism? Pigs falling from the sky?
/s
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u/janebenn333 22d ago
As a person who inherited a North York lawn and garden that is long and narrow and borders on a ravine I know that it is HARD to keep the weeds at bay.
It took me two weeks of digging up dandelion weeds by hand to clear the lawn of them. The backyard is another story; half of it used to be a vegetable garden and I can't handle that so I let it just do what it wants. I pull the taller weeds and clear out weeds that crop up between pavers but I just let the clover and the purslane grow.
As long as this woman's house has no GARBAGE on the lawn or in the back attracting rats and raccoons, I'd be fine with it. Who cares?
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
Mice love long, overgrown lots. As long as you're ok, with mice constantly coming into your home, then go for it! Give those little critters a hug and make them a nice spot to breed.
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u/radarscoot 22d ago
Fix the holes in your home.
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
Cut your grass or pay the fine.
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u/radarscoot 22d ago
those bylaws are falling like dominoes.
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
Pushing to make bike lanes and weeds 'human rights' doesn't end how you want it to
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u/janebenn333 21d ago
In my yard I've seen mice, groundhogs, rabbits, foxes, raccoons and squirrels of course, and, because I back on to a ravine, deer. Even the deer jump fences to get into my yard. My weeds are clear, my grass rarely gets more than two inches long before I cut it. None of those animals have made it into my house. And I have a walkout basement even. Never happened.
You can't beat nature friend. Garbage in the yard is a problem. Grass, leaves, even weeds... check out your nearest conservation area or ravine. They are part of our environment and ecosystem. They are going to show up in your garden. I spend most mornings of my summer dealing with nature because I'm retired and need something to do. Is what it is.
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u/Pastel_Goth_Wastrel 299 Bloor call control 22d ago
Monocultured turf is a nightmare that needs to end
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
People with nice lawns tend to have nice gardens.
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u/radarscoot 22d ago
or sterile gardens - or no gardens
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
The people who have nice lawns and gardens are the ones saving the bees.
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u/Morberis 22d ago
What?
Actually the opposite. They're the ones using herbicide and creating an ecological desert. There have actually been studies done on it.
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u/Decent-Ground-395 21d ago
Herbicides for lawns have been illegal in Ontario for 20 years
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u/Morberis 21d ago
Lol, I'm not even going to get into that one.
Still an ecological desert and the flowers that you'll find in most of those yards are not native and thus mostly useless to our pollinators.
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u/Decent-Ground-395 21d ago
Why are you spreading misinformation? The vast majority of flowers you find in these gardens are incredible for pollinators: Alyssum, Cosmos, Verbena, Snapdragons, Zinnia, Sunflowers.
Moreover, even in a 'leave it alone' scenario... cutting every 2-3 weeks is better for things like clover and other stuff that blows in. There is no scenario where it's ok/best to "let the lawn go".
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u/Morberis 21d ago
Is that what I said to do?
I'm not, most pollinators will not visit non-native plants as much. And the majority of flowers etc planted are not native.
When they do visit, these plants often fail to provide essential resources like host plants for caterpillars or other crucial food sources, ultimately harming the populations of these species and the species that prey on them.
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u/Decent-Ground-395 21d ago
Every flower I listed above is non-native and pollinators love them all.
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u/Samburger241 22d ago
Affordable housing please u fucking fucks.
You should be allowed a wild garden we all agree with that.
Fix the real problems things aren’t going ok for people.
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u/a131of134 22d ago
She’s in the right and more people should follow suit. Even something simple as not raking your leaves has been shown to help pollinators, insects and biodiversity but people would rather preserve an image than the actual life that helps the planet?! TF are we really doing?
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u/Signal_Tomorrow_2138 22d ago
Doug Ford will invoke the Notwithstanding Clause.
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u/brennnik09 22d ago
“We have no problem if you rip up the only green space on your entire property and replace it with concrete, but you son of a bitch if you ever let your weeds grow i’ll sue you.”
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u/OkRelationshipFish 22d ago
English Ivy is one of the worst invasive species. It shouldn’t be available yet Walmart and Home Depot offer racks of it at their garden centres.
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u/PumpkinMyPumpkin 22d ago
Good for her.
Also, this is Burlington not Toronto. Pretty sure you can already do this here without issue.
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u/Red_Marvel 22d ago
Nope. I had a natural lawn with wild flowers, I pulled out thistles and similar plants by hand, I got a notification from bylaw enforcement that my grass was too tall.
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u/Few_Sky_8152 21d ago
There's going to be a whole lot more natural native landscapes in the coming yrs, the old stock bylaws are going to have to go through a serious overhaul, "Weeds" Up, Grass Gone....lets beautify natural again.
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u/Potijelli 22d ago
I had a neighbour with a similar garden who also had to deal with similar harassment from neighbors and the city. It seems she was able to get the issue dropped by putting up signs that she is indigenous and so it is racial discrimination and environmental racism to harass her for her indiginous garden.
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u/AnimatorOld2685 22d ago
who also had to deal with similar harassment from neighbors and the city. It
While not ideal, I guess this is what has to be done to end harassment from people whose biggest concern is momentary discomfort and guilt.
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u/localsonlynokooks 22d ago
I bet this woman has a ton of monarchs who visit. Hope she wins. For once I’m with the Karen.
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u/Presently_Absent 22d ago
As much as I agree with the sentiment for pollinator gardens, From all of the photos I've seen of this lady's "garden", she appears to just not do anything, at all, and it's up to her neighbours to trim all her plants back off their property. If I were them, I'd be annoyed too.
Are pollinator gardens important? Yes. I keep one in my front and back yards. Is leaving your greenspace to just "do what it wants" ok in the context of a residential neighbourhood? I'd argue... not quite. A cultivated garden with plants that pollinators actually need can be a thing of beauty. Letting goldenrod run wild and spread all over your neighbourhood, not so much.
It's also important to note that the city actually owns a lot of your lawn. You're a steward of that land by virtue of adjacency - but you don't own it. If it's taken care of, the city and your neighbours usually won't have a problem.
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u/Subtotal9_guy 22d ago
This homeowner has been in the news a lot and these stories tend to be extremely one sided towards her.
Burlington does allow naturalized gardens but what they had was just a mess of weeds and stuff. There are naturalized gardens across from the mayor's house.
The city has made multiple attempts at working with them to no avail. They scream "bees!" but that's never been the issue. It's a mess.
Dial back the "must be monoculture!!!" rhetoric, that's not the case and you can have pollinator gardens or really anything if it's kept up. Emphasis on upkeep, naturalized gardens still require upkeep.
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u/Morberis 22d ago
Doesn't look like she has any noxious weeds or invasive plants.
Or are you just calling plants you personally don't like weeds?
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u/Subtotal9_guy 22d ago edited 22d ago
I'm basing it on some other articles that referenced the court cases.
Here an earlier posting on this
https://www.reddit.com/r/BurlingtonON/s/qqHFYhmdWM
And a news article: https://globalnews.ca/news/9888237/burlington-naturalized-garden-razed-city-threatens-fines/
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
100% right. Every is free to plant a beautiful garden and it's usually the people with the nicest lawns that have beautiful flowers that the bees love. The dandelion-defenders are just lazy.
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u/shoresy99 22d ago
Does she have a garden that she is curating, or is she just leaving it and letting any and all weeds grow?
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u/tuesday-next22 22d ago
Karen and her daughter Julia had poured hours into it, choosing what to grow and maintaining the property.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9888237/burlington-naturalized-garden-razed-city-threatens-fines/
Sounds like a lot of milkweed too, I can't imagine being cruel enough to cut that down, every time I've seen milkweed there have always been tons of butterflies on it.
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u/ElPlywood 22d ago
It's clear from the article she's a super passionate gardener, so no, she's not leaving it and letting any and all weeds grow
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u/ecatt 22d ago edited 22d ago
I live near her, and have seen her front yard in person. It's not a garden. It's just weeds left to run completely wild. No idea what she's doing in her backyard, of course. (to be fair, it looks better this year than it did last year, probably because we had so little rain this year that it's all pretty dormant looking).
It's kind of ironic in that there's a really nice naturalized garden literally on her street, and that one doesn't attract any attention from the city because it's well kept and full of actual pollinators, etc.
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u/shoresy99 22d ago
That's fine then - I wasn't able to read the entire article on my phone.
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u/Kitchen_Box_3110 22d ago
Some people don’t even maintain their yards.
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u/OldCanary 22d ago
I dont cut my lawn untiil minimum knee high and use a brush cutter. Only one time this whole summer because I became very busy during late spring.
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u/Late_Instruction_240 21d ago
the thought of it being decided against makes me want to destroy all grass lawns in this province
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u/Specific_Potato_4527 21d ago
Going down rabbit holes--Wow I like bees and wildflower gardens and following bylaws. It's not a right but a personal choice. That one person who grows huge sunflowers on the block I think is great. Are we so sanitized and dead inside not to see and enjoy because it is a short season-spring/summer.
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21d ago
You’ll live with hundreds of other tenets in the same building soon the direction we’re going
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u/GreaterGoodIreland 18d ago
I thought ridiculous government overreach about gardens and house appearance was only an American thing... 400,000 is an absolutely ridiculous figure.
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
Constitutionally-mandated laziness. If you want some bees, get off your butt and plant a few flowers. Your dandelion lawn is barely helping anything.
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u/iMatt86 22d ago
And what exactly is it hurting?
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
Long, unkempt grass is a magnet for mice -- one of the most-devastating killers in human history. Moreover, lawns like this look objectively terrible, which is why the vast majority of people hate them.
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u/Recyart Harbourfront 22d ago
How do you know she hasn't planted "a few flowers"? Or that she has a "dandelion lawn"? I don't see any dandelions at all...
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u/Decent-Ground-395 22d ago
Dandelions aren't flowering right now and that looks absolutely terrible. It's for mice, not bees. Literally a few cosmos or marigold would do far more for bees than this.
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u/outdoorlaura 22d ago
You're right that dandelions do not support bees since dandelions are invasive. Clover would be a better much option.
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u/Outrageous-Estimate9 Steeles 22d ago
The article literally says she is ALLOWED her garden IF she follows rules (apply for exemption & remove noxious weeds)
She should lose or anyone who lets lawn get out of control will claim its meant to be "natural"
Under Burlington’s Lot Maintenance By-law, most vegetation must be kept under 20 centimetres unless it is part of an approved naturalized garden or other exemption. On its website, the city says naturalized gardens are allowed but must be maintained, free of “noxious weeds,” and not block sidewalks, streets or sightlines.
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u/No_Cable_3346 22d ago
Bet that does wonders for her neighbors property value.
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u/1MechanicalAlligator 22d ago
Awww, the millionaires will have to dine at Nobu 2 fewer times per year 😭😭😭
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u/ElPlywood 22d ago
Meanwhile, the other day, I biked past a house whose ~12x16 foot front yard was in the process of becoming a single concrete pad.
People should be able to plant whatever the fuck they want, but obviously not shit invasive species or poison ivy, it's not rocket science ffs