Family’s ‘naturalized’ garden in Burlington razed by City after they fail to comply with by-laws

A naturalized garden to some, a wild and unkept lawn to others, the front grassy-knoll of Karen and Julia Barnes' home has become a fiery issue in the city of Burlington.

A naturalized garden to the family and a wild and unkept lawn to others, the front grassy-knoll of Karen and Julia Barnes’ home has become a fiery issue in the city of Burlington, Ont. after it was razed pursuant to city bylaws in June.

“I was screaming,” recalled Karen, the homeowner and mother. “It was just a complete panic. I didn’t know what to do. We’re not allowed to interfere because that’s a $100,000 fine. I was just in shock and grief that anyone would do that.”

The issue of the Barnes milkweed-filled garden, which was home to butterflies, bees and other critters, has been going on since 2015. Karen and her daughter Julia had poured hours into it, choosing what to grow and maintaining the property. On June 6th, the garden was cut down.

“They just raised the whole thing down to the ground. It was levelled down to dirt, Karen said.

The city claims there were noxious weeds and invasive species, while the growth had exceeded the 20 centimetres that is allowed.

The Barnes family started to “let nature take its course” in 2015, with the growth coming in as high as three feet. The city had received multiple complaints from neighbours calling it an eyesore, with some remarking the home looked abandoned.

“In this particular case, communication with the property owner has been ongoing since 2015, with the City previously completing maintenance activities when compliance was not met. Initial notice was given in October 2022 with subsequent discussions up until June 2023 when follow-up maintenance was completed,” wrote Kerry Davren, director of Bylaw Compliance for the city of Burlington.

In 2019, the city took Barnes to court. In 2022, the court made a finding of “failing to remove and destroy all noxious weeds” in violation of the city bylaws. 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.