Rose Janson transformed her downtown Hamilton backyard into a walk in the woods

Rose Janson turned her asphalt driveway into a berry patch. More on that at the end.

Then, she made over her typical backyard - a swath of lawn and a big tin shed - into an urban forest. On a spring day, walking through her garden now is much like walking through the woods and finding a glade of dappled sunlight. Birds flit to and fro, the trees show off their spring flowers, and peacefulness pervades.

Rose had a little farm in west Flamborough, up towards Rockton. She and her partner, Bruce, grew vegetables and I had some hens, some chickens." Then Bruce died and Rose didn't drive any more. She ended up with this pretty cottage-style house in the Kirkendall neighbourhood seven years ago. She started remaking her back garden five years ago. It looks as if it has been there forever.

I was interested in helping birds and pollinators," she says. I love trees, and I had gone to a lecture where the speaker explained that baby birds need native trees."

Rose did not go into this blindly. She had experience, to be sure, growing up with an apple orchard and living on the Flamborough farm. But, she says, I knew nothing about trees and about native trees." And she wasn't interested in growing apple trees here. There's a ton of pruning involved and besides, she said, I've had my fill of apple trees."

She got in touch with Paul O'Hara, a local botanist and landscape designer with a specialty in native-plant gardens. They talked and in May 2018 he drew up a planting plan for the 600-square-foot back garden. Rose had the grass dug up and turned over, then followed O'Hara's plan almost exactly, planting some 20 trees and shrubs that summer with the help of grandson Miles. Some three cubic yards of mulch went down between and among the plantings and a small assortment of mostly native perennials thrives in the good soil and woodland environment.

There's a path that winds through the trees, an irregular circle below the slightly elevated deck behind the house. One of her delights with her wooded garden is that it really looks after itself. The only thing I have to do is keep that path clear and not let things take it over."

One of two ironwoods - a native tree notable for its very dense wood and that has hop-like flowers in late spring - is close to the deck, next to a weeping hemlock. Honeysuckle (there are four of them in the garden) is planted between it and a bushy serviceberry, which is next to a chestnut tree that was here when Rose bought the house. That chestnut is flowering as I visit. A white pine is next to the fence, followed by a climbing honeysuckle on the fence. And there's a rose in there, too," Rose says.

Next comes a spikenard, a shrubby plant I confess I'd never heard of before. It's a native wildflower that produces small white flowers and red berries that attract birds. Rose has planted several of them, following the planting plan. Also on the forest floor" are several woodland poppies, in brilliant yellow flower now. A big swath of emerging goldenrod, which will flower in late summer, has made itself at home here, too. A clump of white birch, which has grown rapidly here, gives a lovely architecture" to the garden. There's a witch hazel, more spikenard, a chokecherry (also in white flower now), and a red cedar in a back corner. A birdhouse and a pollinator hotel (a habitat for beneficial insects) are further attractants to the garden visitors Rose wants.

A bur oak, which Rose worries is not thriving as well as it should, is encircled by the woodland path. (She is reassured by Paul O'Hara that bur oak is tough and will be fine.) On the other side of the path are purple-flowering raspberries and the other ironwood tree. Three spreading Anderson yew bushes mark our return to the deck. Wild strawberries, sedges (grass-like plants) and columbine (aquilegia) are planted through the mulch. There's also lily of the valley, sweet woodruff, anemones and violets.

Not everything fits into the native/pollinator slot, but Rose is OK with that. I'm not a purist."

There's a wonderful sense of texture to this garden, with foliage ranging across a spectrum from the big, pendulous leaves on the chestnut tree to the soft spikiness of the yews. It was one of the things noted about the garden when it won a Monarch award last year. They're given for gardens that exhibit biodiversity and sustainability and Rose is pleased with that recognition. Her garden is both for pleasure and a statement. It was a bit of a protest at all the tree cutting going on around here. And I'm a climate activist. I'm very worried about the future."

But almost hidden in the plantings under the oak tree are figurines of lying-down piglets. They came from the Flamborough farm and were a gift from her partner. There's a bit of whimsy in my garden," Rose says with a laugh. I love it. There's no work to do. I don't ever have to cut the grass. I get the birds here I wanted."

The back garden doesn't stand alone. In front of the house, a small decorative garden was lost its tulip flowers, but dwarf purple irises are glorious. Rose had the asphalt driveway taken out and she has planted fruit bushes, a few broccoli and some about-to-pop peonies. This is all fruits and herbs and a few veggies - and some flowers to make it pretty," Rose says. She beams. It's all good.

Rob Howard lives and gardens in Hamilton. He's a garden writer, speaker and garden coach. You can reach him at gardenwriterrob@gmail.com or on Facebook at Rob Howard: Garden Writer.