About Nolan Franklin

Hi, I’m Nolan — a gardener and writer in Brant, Ontario.

I spent my childhood in places alive with small things to discover — in meadows, ravines, and forests; by creeks and ponds; along beaches, railway tracks, and trails; and in family gardens, from my grandfather’s urban farm to my grandmother’s and mom’s wildflower-filled gardens.

Two children walking along a rocky Cape Breton shoreline with beach grasses and low coastal plants.
Cape Breton, 1993 — shoreline, stones, grasses, and salt air.
Nolan Franklin as a young child walking through tall pink and white phlox along the old railroad tracks near his grandmother’s house.
Along the railroad tracks by my grandmother’s house.

That early sense of wonder still shapes how I see gardens and the natural world. I’m interested in how even small yards can become calmer, more beautiful, and more alive when they are rooted in place and connected to the life around them. I draw inspiration from native plants, local ecologies, seasonal change, family gardens, field edges, woodland trails, and the small lives that belong to these places.

Where I garden

I garden in Brant, Ontario, within Ecodistrict 7E-2, part of the broader Carolinian landscape of southern Ontario.

In the garden

My own yard is a suburban lot with dry sandy soil, pockets of loam and silt, some shade, and plenty of sun. It gives me room to experiment, observe, and learn from what grows.

I grow many plants native to southern Ontario from seed and try them in different conditions, watching how they establish, spread, flower, fail, return, and support insects, birds, and other wildlife over time.

These observations are slowly shaping my future approach to ecological garden design: as a way of arranging plants, habitat, structure, and seasonal change into gardens that feel rooted, beautiful, and full of life.

How I think about gardens

I believe gardens, no matter the scale, can be many things, sometimes all at once.

They can be places of beauty and awe, offering small moments that feel almost magical — especially in the right light.

They can feed our families and the wildlife that visits.

They can be places to teach, and places to learn from.

And perhaps most importantly, they can steady our minds and bodies, and connect us again to the living world around us.

I’m especially interested in how gardens rooted in native plants, biodiversity, and seasonal change can change what we notice, value, and care for.

What you’ll find on this site

This site is my notebook: a place for fieldnotes, essays, plant trials, garden studies, and reflections on plants, pollinators, birds, habitat, seasonal change, life, loss, memory, beauty, and belonging.

Some pieces are simple observations from the garden and local trails. Others are longer reflections on ecology, garden design, and what small gardens and familiar places can hold.