22 California cities north of Sacramento with slight population losses

Redding and 21 other far Northern California cities lost residents over the past year, even as the state's overall population grew.
Redding got a slight population boost during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown and when state sanctions were in place; but those population gains were gone as of Jan. 1, 2025, according to state Department of Finance population estimates, released in May.
While Redding lost the same number of residents or more than all but one North State city on the list, that loss made a smaller dent in the city's overall population. The Shasta County seat is home to 93,534 people, more than than any other city on the list.
Anderson and Shasta Lake in Shasta County, too, were among 240 California cities where the population went down.
More: 12 California cities in North Coast, North State that are growing
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Montague, Mount Shasta, Fort Jones, Etna, Tulelake, Dorris and Dunsmuir: These Siskiyou County cities saw small declines in their population ranging from five people each in Etna, Fort Jones and Montague to 15 in Dunsmuir and 23 in Mount Shasta.
Anderson, Redding and Shasta Lake: These Shasta County cities each saw population declines that ranged from 76 people in Shasta Lake and 81 each in Anderson and Redding.
Gridley and Biggs: These Butte County cities each saw population declines that ranged from 25 people in Biggs and 81 in Gridley.
Grass Valley and Nevada City: These Nevada County cities each saw population declines that ranged from 29 in Nevada City to 97 in Grass Valley.
Eureka, Fortuna, Ferndale, Trinidad, Blue Lake and Rio Dell: These Humboldt County cities each saw population declines that ranged from 50 people in Eureka and 47 in Fortuna to 6 in Ferndale and 2 in Trinidad.
Alturas: This Modoc County city saw a population decline of 5 people.
Williams: This Colusa County city saw a population decline of 27 people.
More: Shasta County sees more people leave while California population rebounds post-COVID
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding, other far Northern California cities losing population

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Politico

an hour ago

• Politico

Andrew Cuomo's Anger is Legendary. And It's Powering His Comeback.

NEW YORK — In 2021, as Assemblymember Ron Kim was drawing a bath for his children, his phone rang. It was Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and he was furious. Kim had criticized Cuomo's handling of nursing home deaths during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, Cuomo was screaming. He threatened to 'destroy' Kim, a fellow Democrat. He tried to pressure Kim into issuing a public statement and said Kim 'hadn't seen his wrath,' according to Kim's later public account. Kim immediately pushed for impeachment legislation against Cuomo, who resigned six months later amid a sexual harassment scandal and a looming effort to remove him from office. Cuomo denies any wrongdoing. Less than four years later, with Cuomo leading in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary that will take place Tuesday, Kim still hasn't endorsed, but he told The New York Times that he's had a change of heart about his former enemy. 'I've always been open to giving people a fair shot,' Kim, who declined to comment for this article, said. 'I want to see, sitting across from him, if he's changed.' Another state lawmaker, granted anonymity by POLITICO Magazine for fear of retribution from Cuomo's camp, insists Cuomo hasn't — and that his bullying has extended into his current campaign for mayor. When Cuomo asked directly for an endorsement, the lawmaker said, 'It sounded like he was on a vengeance campaign…. It didn't sound like this was a campaign focused on working people, but revitalizing the Cuomo brand.' Then, after the lawmaker refused to endorse him, the threats started. Cuomo's top aides contacted the lawmaker to suggest 'I would live to regret my decision,' the lawmaker said. 'It's not the normal conversation you would have with a sitting elected official,' the lawmaker continued. 'It's not [a conversation] you would have with a person you respect.' When asked for comment, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi called the lawmaker's account 'absurd on its face.' Since he's out of office, Azzopardi said, the former governor wielded little leverage to wield any implied or explicit threats. For those who've interacted with Cuomo and his team over the years, stories like these are hardly surprising. In dozens of interviews with former aides, state lawmakers and journalists who covered his administration, a consistent portrait emerges: Cuomo governed through fear. He employed a scorched-earth strategy against those who questioned or criticized him. His staff often acted as surrogates for his ire, enforcing his will with an intensity that several former officials said easily surpassed anything they'd encountered in New York politics. Azzopardi pointed to the ex-governor's decade of accomplishments that his dogged personality helped shape: The legalization of same-sex marriage, an increase in the state's minimum wage, stricter gun control laws and major construction projects like a refurbished LaGuardia Aiport. 'It was hard work which is not for everyone, but it's unfortunate that this weird lore about it continues to persist and that POLITICO has been all too willing to print this poorly sourced and downright absurd years-old palace intrigue,' Azzopardi said. 'For every shadowy tale here, there are a dozen longtime aides — some of whom have been in our world for decades — who are proud of the work that we did and have been not only supportive during this campaign, but have been willing to drop everything to help.' Most former Cuomo staff, journalists and political associates were granted anonymity for this article due to fear of retaliation from Cuomo and his current staff. Those who did speak publicly described in detail the ways that his office, with Cuomo as a lead participant, would threaten anyone he deemed incompetent or an enemy with professional and personal hell. As Cuomo once told a trusted associate, who recounted the story for POLITICO Magazine, his theory of power went something like this: You can't let a dog run through an electric fence because all the other dogs will follow. You have to zap the lead dog as an example. Another Cuomo associate put it more bluntly: 'When you have your heel on someone's throat, you don't lift up your foot.' That philosophy won Cuomo few genuine allies in New York politics — and may help explain why so many were quick to turn on him in 2021, when he resigned in disgrace. But his well-known reputation for bullying is also key to understanding his comeback. The Queens-born scion of a political dynasty is now the frontrunner in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. That's not in spite of his threats and intimidation, but, in many ways, because of them. Many of the very same establishment figures who once distanced themselves from Cuomo — or publicly rebuked him — are now lining up behind his campaign. Many of those have been targets of his wrath. Some, critics say, are simply afraid — or unwilling to risk what crossing him could mean. 'There's two kinds of people who are supporting Cuomo: One are folks who are shook, people who remember he's an abusive bully and they fear he's going to use whatever power he has as mayor to hurt them,' said Democratic State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, who has represented sections of the Bronx since 2011 and endorsed State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani in the primary. 'And there are those who lack integrity.' Cuomo's political resurrection is also a reflection of the current political moment: This is an era in which many Democratic voters say they crave a 'fighter' who can take on President Donald Trump. He's calling his independent ballot line — which he could use to run as an independent should he lose the Democratic primary, or use in addition to the Democratic party line should he win on Tuesday — 'Fight and Deliver.' Its symbol: two boxing gloves. '[A lot of voters] are supporting him because they think he's going to push back, they think he's going to fight against Trump,' said Basil Smikle, a political strategist and a former executive director for the state Democratic Committee. As the former governor campaigns in the Trump 2.0 era, his tight circle of advisers remains largely intact — including some of the same enforcers who once carried out his vendettas against critics and reporters. Until recently, his campaign staff had mostly kept the candidate away from interviews, as his close confidantes continued to lash out at his political enemies and the New York media. If Cuomo wins, 'I think the entire city is in store for a lot of controversy; the entire city is in store for a lot of bullying and him waving the big stick,' said former Democratic Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, who endorsed Brad Lander in the mayoral primary. 'He'll change the system to get his way.' Cuomo's insistence on bending New York's political class towards his priorities through sheer force of will has turned him into one of the most polarizing figures in New York's modern political history. This has manifested itself in interactions Cuomo had with every group of people he worked with as governor: his own staff, fellow lawmakers, state officials, lobbyists, advocates and the press. 'If anyone says to [Cuomo], 'I can't do this because of XYZ,' he'll throw a temper tantrum or he'll order them out of the room and he will turn to somebody else to do the same job that that person was trying to do,' said Karen Hinton, Cuomo's former press secretary when he was secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, which he has denied. 'You internalize the anger and it just spills over to others,' Hinton said. 'I did that to my staff. … He has a bad temper and he has to make other people feel bad because there's something inside of him that makes him feel bad.' In response to Hinton's comments, Azzopardi highlighted a 2018 opinion piece she wrote that included a positive line about Cuomo's treatment of women. Early on in his first gubernatorial term, Cuomo flew off the handle at his then-chief spokesperson Josh Vlasto, calling him an 'incompetent asshole' in front of several top aides, according to two people who witnessed the interaction. Vlasto confirmed this in his 2021 deposition with the New York Attorney General's Office, and told POLITICO Magazine regarding the incident, 'Albany is a tough place to work and get things done. When we got there in 2011, we were working at full steam, 24/7 to turn the state around and the results speak for themselves — marriage equality, balanced on-time budgets, finally getting major infrastructure projects not just started but completed and so much more.' Cuomo reportedly regularly spread rumors that former Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wore eyeliner and called former Democratic Comptroller Tom DiNapoli 'chipmunk balls.' Allen Roskoff, a gay rights activist who has known Cuomo since he was 18 and has had many direct interactions with him over the years, said 'Andrew makes a lot of enemies … He didn't want to do anything for the left unless he was forced to.' Cuomo developed a reputation, too, for going after anyone he felt was obstructing his legislative agenda — often other lawmakers. After Niou, along with two other Democratic lawmakers, criticized Cuomo in 2019 for holding a $25,000-a-ticket fundraiser, Azzopardi (who remains on Cuomo's team) walked through the Albany press room calling Niou, State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi and State Sen. Jessica Ramos — an avowed progressive, loud Cuomo critic and former rival in the Democratic primary who would later endorse him — 'fucking idiots.' His comments, Azzopardi clarified at the time, were very much on the record. Today, he's more contrite. 'I've said it before and I'll say it again, I regret not sticking strictly to the facts there as I'm sure the authors of this piece aren't proud of every word they've written in the past and perhaps will not be proud of in the future,' Azzopardi told POLITICO Magazine. For Niou, it still stings. '[Cuomo] never, ever apologized,' said Niou. According to Niou, Cuomo specifically deputized his advisers to bully, both online and behind closed doors. '[His staff] are given this allowance to treat people the way he treats people,' she said. 'You can see what kind of behaviors he encourages because those are the people he promotes. It's a system he's built to justify his own behavior.' Some lawmakers became fearful of how their relationship with him would impact their policy goals, according to Niou. 'Everyone is afraid of him. They're afraid he'll be vindictive toward them,' she said. 'They're afraid they won't get their legislation passed because of his animosity toward them. Legislators who have clashed with him have seen his wrath.' Reporters throughout the state attest that he used the same operating style with them, too. In the fall of 2016, Lindsay Nielsen was investigating a contaminated water supply that seemed to be causing an uptick in cancer rates in Hoosick Falls, New York. Frustrated that her calls to the governor's administration went unanswered, she decided to show up in person at the governor's office to get answers. Nielsen said she was used to abuse from Cuomo's office; she had covered the administration for ABC's News10 in Albany for five years. 'They would call me right before I was going live and would tell me I can't do my story. They would call my boss and try to get me fired,' Nielsen told POLITICO Magazine in an interview. 'Or they would wait [to comment] until my story was posted online, and then they would harass me … calling me on my personal phone at all hours outside of work, accusing me of having a personal vendetta.' This time, though, she said a Cuomo aide went nuclear. There to meet her was then-Deputy Communications Director Leo Rosales, who she said hurled personal insults and attacks that, almost 10 years later, still sting — and that she says she can't bear to repeat. 'It was very intimidating and bullying to the point that we left, I got back in the news car and was bawling my eyes out and called my boss. They were scared and said 'I don't think we can do this story,' and the story got shut down.' Rosales did not respond to a request for comment, but Azzopardi said, 'That's not the Leo any of us know and I highly doubt that went down the way it was described.' ABC News10's news director Ryan Mott — who was the morning executive producer at the station at the time — said he didn't recall the specific story or the incident but that 'Lindsay was a good reporter, and that was a hectic time.' Nielsen said the abuse was unlike anything she experienced covering other powerful institutions. Eventually, it drove her to leave journalism altogether. 'There were aides known for screaming at you on the phone for minutes at a time. I was the recipient of some of these,' said Ross Barkan, who covered Cuomo while at the New York Observer and later wrote a critical missive about Cuomo and his administration entitled The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, Coronavirus, and the Fall of New York. 'If they didn't like you they would call you up and shout.' 'If you worked for Cuomo, this is what he demands,' Barkan said. 'Cuomo was going hard on them, and they'd turn around and go hard on you. There was nothing like that in [Mayor Bill] de Blasio's office or [Gov. Kathy] Hochul's office. It was uniquely combative.' In 2020, Anne McCloy, a former reporter for CBS6 in Albany, was working on a special report, investigating Cuomo's directive forcing nursing homes to accept Covid-positive patients, when she said she got a call from Azzopardi. During the conversation, she said, Azzopardi 'was borderline threatening… I was so stressed out, I couldn't handle the stress of it running. … The story had been [looked at by] lawyers, but I worked for a company that was very scared of being sued.' McCloy said the interaction with Azzopardi was 'very, very intense' and that he was 'trying to scare me.' 'I respect tough and aggressive reporters and I make zero apologies for doing my job,' Azzopardi replied. 'The norms have changed over the years and I think we all have made adjustments, but a government and a campaign is not the same as running a daycare and won't be treated as such.' McCloy's story never ran. The station, she said, decided to pull the plug. (CBS6 did not respond to a request for comment.) During his time as governor, Cuomo kept few friends. Save for a few loyalists, his staff turned over quickly. His office leaked like a sieve and his multitude of scandals frequently spilled into the public eye. As former Cuomo aide Joel Wertheimer once described it to New York Magazine, Cuomo and his close associates spent a decade being both mean and bad at their jobs. By 2021, after Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report that concluded the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women during his time in office, he had few allies left in the state capital to defend him. After years of frustration with the governor's office, New York's political class took the opportunity to pressure him out of politics with an almost unified voice. Cuomo, who'd served as governor since 2011, resigned 14 days after James' report was released. Cuomo denied any sexual intent with his behavior, but said of one accuser, 'If she said I did it, I believe her.' (In January, the state of New York settled with the U.S. Department of Justice after a DOJ investigation concluded that Cuomo had sexually harassed more than a dozen state employees.) Cuomo continues to deny all allegations and said recently that he regrets resigning. Even after Cuomo left office, though, he maintained a small but ardent base of popular support from voters throughout the state who always believed him to be just the kind of tough leader that an often dysfunctional city and state government needs — particularly during Trump's second term. Cuomo has certainly taken advantage of the political environment: His own name recognition, the incumbent mayor's deep unpopularity and an array of lesser-known hopefuls fighting for a similar lane have all helped him overcome high unfavorables. Cuomo has held a lead in every public ranked-choice poll of the New York City mayoral race's Democratic primary since he entered it in March — though his advantage has narrowed in recent weeks. He's stayed busy, glad-handing at churches and union meetings and continuing to hover around New York's political scene. And his efforts have been rewarded with a long list of enemies turned allies. 'What he's done is fill what is broadly perceived as a constructive leadership vacuum,' said Kathy Wylde, the president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization whose membership includes many of the city's business leaders. 'I don't think we'd be seeing any of this happen if we didn't have a mayor who was indicted a year and a half ago,' she said, referring to the indictment alleging Mayor Eric Adams accepted illegal campaign donations from foreign nationals. (The charges were ultimately dismissed by the Justice Department; Adams is running as an independent in the general election). If Adams' support hadn't cratered, according to Wylde, the dynamics of the race would be very different, and the business community she represents would have been more divided if both were strong contenders in the race. As Cuomo has maintained his lead atop the polls, one by one many of his most vociferous former critics have lined up behind him. On June 6, Ramos, one of the three lawmakers Azzopardi specifically attacked in 2019, endorsed the former governor in the ranked-choice primary. Ramos, who is staying in the race but polling in the low single digits with a campaign that's in serious debt, said in March that Cuomo is a 'corrupt bully with a record of alleged sexual misconduct.' As recently as June 4, she told POLITICO after a mayoral debate, 'I wish I lived in a city where voters cared about women getting harassed.' Evidently, she changed her mind — though her sudden turnabout appears to also reflect her personal frustration with Mamdani. Either way, she's now a regular feature on the campaign trail with Cuomo in the race's closing days. But while Ramos endorsed Cuomo, the former governor did not return the favor. Ramos declined to comment for this story. Others who called for Cuomo's exit are also falling in line. In 2021, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said the governor's resignation was 'in the best interest of New York State,' but endorsed him in March saying he didn't want to 'relitigate the past.' Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D.-N.Y.), who made the #MeToo movement a key plank of her 2020 presidential bid, called the harassment allegations against the governor 'serious and deeply concerning' — and demanded he resign. But in March, when asked about Cuomo's mayoral bid, Gillibrand told NY1, 'This is a country that believes in second chances.' Torres did not respond to a request for comment. Gillibrand's office directed POLITICO Magazine to her comments to WNYC's Brian Lehrer, in which she said, 'Everyone gets to decide in this election who they want to vote for. It's up to New Yorkers. It is not up to me. And that's it.' In 2021, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn, the chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, also called for Cuomo to resign. But she was one of Cuomo's early endorsers in the mayoral race; he secured her backing in March. Now, she argues, she and others prematurely asked him to step down, before he had a fair shake in the court system (criminal charges against Cuomo were ultimately dropped). 'I was the first County Party Leader in our city to endorse Cuomo for Mayor because he will utilize his unparalleled experience to deliver real results,' Bichotte-Hermelyn said in a statement to POLITICO Magazine. 'As a recent law school graduate, I must emphasize that we can't just judge on the court of public opinion — everyone must be judged under the law, which require due process, discovery, merit-based claims and all constitutional rights.' A POLITICO analysis showed that over 40 percent of Cuomo's top endorsements from elected officials come from people who publicly condemned him in 2021. Smikle, the political strategist who used to head the state Democratic Committee, told POLITICO Magazine that many of the politicians and advocates who felt constantly under attack from Cuomo were eager to be rid of him. Their frustrations with the governor led them to join the charge against him when it was clear there would be few political repercussions for doing so. 'There were some [state legislators] that believe that Cuomo bullied them,' Smikle said. 'For some, there was a rush to push him out the door once they saw the opening, and that there would be little to no political fallout.' 'Some of these [same] people have endorsed him at this point, which I think speaks to his shrewdness and his desire to succeed at all costs, even if it requires being [back] in the face of people who wanted to destroy you,' Smikle continued. 'From his point of view, that's just being a politician. He's going after what he wants.' New York voters might want a sometimes-obnoxious, callous, old-school fighter raised in an outer borough to go up against Trump, another old-school fighter raised in an outer borough. And Cuomo's office has in fact long cultivated that image. In 2013, at the annual Legislative Correspondents Association Show in Albany, his team handed out stickers with a picture of then-top adviser Larry Schwartz and the phrase, 'BULLIES DELIVER.' But insiders argue the attitude that Cuomo takes with reporters and state lawmakers might not show up when the president is involved. Multiple former Cuomo associates said that he was more inclined to punch down at underlings than up at Trump. One described him as having a glass jaw, and that after a call with Trump during the George Floyd protests in 2020 in New York, Cuomo seemed visibly nervous. 'New Yorkers saw the governor battle Trump every day during COVID … Andrew Cuomo is the only candidate in this race with a record of standing up to this bully and succeeding,' Azzopardi responded. 'I think one of the biggest misunderstandings the public has about Andrew Cuomo is they think that because he, as governor, was always pretty good at centering himself, that he's in some way, a good leader, a good manager, the kind of person you want in charge,' said Janos Marton, the chief advocacy officer at the progressive advocacy organization Marton first encountered Cuomo while working for the Moreland Commission, a state-run effort to root out corruption that was hobbled by Cuomo in 2014 after he directed the commission to stop investigating his political allies. 'But the reality is, he is an extreme micromanager with a very small inner circle that has gotten smaller over the years. … I shudder to think how he would run a city as dynamic and complicated as New York City.' If Cuomo wins, he'll have to contend not only with Trump but more directly with Hochul, his onetime lieutenant governor, who called Cuomo's behavior as described in James' report 'repulsive and unlawful.' Despite the vast differences between his old job and his potential new one, though, few people who know him think that he'll change. As the state lawmaker who chose not to endorse Cuomo argued, 'Given some of the things that have been widely reported about [Cuomo], I'd imagine some of those retribution tools and tactics will come back again.'

Hamilton Spectator

an hour ago

• Hamilton Spectator

Six Nations care home evacuated by ‘severe flooding'

Residents at a new long-term-care home in Delhi woke up to a surprise on Thursday morning: dozens of new friends around the breakfast tables. The 128-bed peopleCare Delhi long-term-care home, which opened its redeveloped building to 40 permanent residents on Monday, welcomed another 40 older adults from Iroquois Lodge after it was evacuated due to flooding. Having just opened, the Dalton Road home had beds to spare. Residents arrived starting at 9 p.m., on Wednesday and kept coming into the early-morning hours. Staff at the Delhi home were 'rolling out tea carts and snacks' while their team performed shortened intakes and settled residents in their rooms with help from familiar Iroquois Lodge caregivers, said Sheena Campbell, vice-president of communications and engagement for peopleCare, the owner of several homes in Ontario. It's a 'massive undertaking,' one that normally takes months to plan. But staff from both homes 'pulled together,' she said. 'There was a spirit of positivity,' she said. 'Neighbours helping neighbours.' Iroquois Lodge is one of two Ohsweken care homes evacuated following 'severe flooding,' Six Nations of the Grand River said in a release on Thursday. Residents of Home and Community Care, which provides supportive housing, palliative care and other services to older and disabled adults, were also relocated, the Ontario First Nation said in the release. Six Nations' central administration building and area homes have also been affected. 'Homes connected to the wastewater system have experienced wastewater backups, which have affected basements and property,' the June 19 release reads. Six Nations didn't respond to Spectator requests for information on Friday. Parts of Chiefswood Road and 3rd Line close Thursday due to flooding on Six Nations of the Grand River. The flooding, the release said, is a result of 'intense rainfall' earlier this week. Six Nations received an estimated 100 millimetres of rain in a 12-hour period on Wednesday, 'significantly more' than surrounding areas, Environment Canada meteorologist Steven Flisfeder said. Neighbouring area Brantford had 43 millimetres and Hamilton had 36 mm. This can occur when 'multiple storms are crossing the same area multiple times' and happen to hit one area harder and longer, he said. 'It really is a luck of the draw,' Flisfeder said. 'It's storm dependent, day dependent how the ingredients for the storm develop and progress.' Six Nations fire and emergency services said in Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon they were 'experiencing extremely high call volumes.' Six Nations is assessing damage to government buildings and 'gathering information from community members who have been affected,' the release reads. Residents with property damage can contact central administration, which continues to monitor calls, at 519-445-2201 , or the 24-hour crisis line at 519-445-2204 . As of Thursday, Chiefswood Road between 5th and 6th lines and 3rd Line between Tuscarora and Chiefswood roads were closed. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

Hamilton Spectator

2 hours ago

• Hamilton Spectator

Open Garden Week 2025: Here's where and when you can visit Hamilton-area private gardens

Listings are organized geographically and by their first open date. Please check listings carefully and visit only during listed hours. If a garden is closed due to unforeseen circumstances, please respect owners' signs or notices. Accessibility information is provided by the garden owners and is not verified. Ilona Feldmann: A small residential garden transitioning from non-native plants to native plants, with a focus on perennials that provide food and habitat for insects and birds. A very large silver maple is a feature in the backyard. Terry McCarthy and Marilyn Renwick: This small hidden garden is a bit of a surprise in an urban neighbourhood. Two levels, a spiral staircase and dense plantings. Trees, vines, perennials and flowering shrubs attract many birds and provide many hours of entertainment and respite. A purpose-built COVID-19 office on the main level is now used more as a backyard cottage. Uneven ground and steps from the street may be a challenge for some. Lennox Toppin: 'FIVE. 2025. Five years since pandemic darkness. High 5. And my 5th, and final, presentation of my garden in Open Gardens — where I am thrilled to finally unveil my fifth garden theme (after: love, sex, death, and decay) … RAGE. The No. 1 question I've been asked is 'will the mannequins make a return?' — and I don't have an answer for that, I have yet to ask them.' 80 gardens across Hamilton area welcome visitors for last Open Garden Week Allyn Walsh: This is a small urban garden transitioning to primarily native plants. The front is densely planted with many natives, and food is grown in containers on the former parking pad. Rose Janson: With 15 different native trees, and many blooming shrubs and perennials, this downtown backyard forest teems with birds and butterflies. Very cool. Two steps to access. Barbara Evans: The garden is 25 years old. What was once a long rectangle of thin grass surrounded by Manitoba maples has gradually become a partially shaded, mostly green space that includes various evergreens and deciduous shrubs, hostas and other perennials. It is somewhat overgrown and a little on the wild side, but we persevere. Emily Brown and Tony Porter: 'Our front and back yards are entirely filled with perennial flowers, shrubs and trees, with no grass. Our garden is constantly changing and adapting; a sanctuary to contemplate nature.' Karin Eckart: 'The gardens, front and back, are very accessible via side gate. I love the old roses, my new wall of hops, the water feature and the raised beds. Also two vegetable beds; house plants getting a summer holiday!' Miranda Lumley: 'Our garden is quite compact and is full of texture, shapes and colour. We are slowly transforming it into a lush oasis. Learning as it grows. It has earned Trillium awards in 2023 and '24.' Andrea Fackelmann: 'Nearly 35 years of gardening adventure in my predominantly shade garden. Rough brick paths wind through over 90 hostas, heucheras, ferns and more. Gardens are designed for minimal care with maximum impact. Accessible but house is on a hillock.' Sue and Martin Keller: Front and side only. 'We are keen gardeners. We have a rain garden at the front, designed and established via the Green Venture rain garden program. All native plants. We have 19 varieties of heirloom tomatoes growing beside the house.' Patricia Barton: Featured in The Spectator as the maker of the 'tiny perfect garden.' Quite small, but colourful, with mostly perennials (and with lots of Joe-pye weed!) Member of Garden Hamilton, Mount Hamilton Horticultural Society (MHHS). Marilyn Nameth: A largely perennial garden — front and back — in transition. A black walnut tree, a new (and attractive) fence and the owner's recalcitrant back means that visitors will have to take the garden as it is. (Editor's note: The garden delights everyone who sees it — except the owner!) Rob and Jane Howard: A small mixed garden that is always in progress and always two weeks behind everyone else's (because of the owner's procrastination). A few interesting plants and an expanding collection of trees. The pond would otherwise be lovely, but the waterfall is 'no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! … Bereft of life, it rests in peace! … It's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-waterfall!' (Pace, John Cleese) But do come by. Member, Garden Hamilton, MHHS. Jennifer and Edward Early: A naturally evolving garden encouraging pollinators with a variety of perennials and some native species. Rita Bailey: 'Almost everything in this garden feeds something: the birds (berries and seeds), the pollinators (native plants), the residents (the veggies) and the neighbourhood (senses). This is a garden in transition and some areas are still 'under construction.'' Member, Garden Hamilton, MHHS. Helen Kirkpatrick: 'Behind the Garden Gate — a fairy garden and a memory garden, featuring roses, varied clematis, climbing hydrangea, and many and diverse native plants.' Carole: 'My front flower garden was recently relandscaped to include a Korean lilac and a Japanese Juniper. The side-yard birch tree shades my home, hostas and shade-friendly flowers. The herb garden that is made secluded by the Rose of Sharon hedge features a water fountain and a metal art piece. Stephen and Claire Kostyshyn: 'Our enclosed, four-season garden has unusual miniature and dwarf conifers, Japanese maples, other woodies, interesting rocks, ornamental grasses and 40-plus hostas. Textural and soothingly tranquil. Our garden is wheelchair accessible.' John Zimmerman: 'Visit our sanctuary nestled against the escarpment. A mixture of plants and articles of interest throughout the garden.' Anna Strobl: 'Inside the beautifully restored Victorian wrought iron fence is a large urban oasis featuring perennials, vegetables, berries, conifers, and flowering shrubs. Lovingly tended over the past 55 years.' Member, Garden Hamilton, MHHS. Mike and Linda Wojcik: 'A little bit of everything: perennials, annuals, trees, vegetable garden, fruit and a small pond. Oh, and a few weeds too! A hilly property.' Christiane Vieler and Paul Stewart: Corner property. Front, side and back open. A charming and interesting perennial garden displaying both native and non-native plants. A backyard pond and garden offer a tranquil spot to relax. Dave and Cathy Cummins: 'Sixty years ago, we moved to a house on a third of an acre with grass, a hedge and a sea of dandelions. Since then we designed, built and still maintain a garden oasis with an astounding number of perennials, shrubs and a beautiful collection of mature trees. Dave's interest is in design and mainly propagation; he grew our gingko tree from a seed in 1967. Cathy's focus is the design. A pergola, pathways, statuary, greenhouse and vegetable garden add interest. Featured on garden tours, in magazines and TV. Not wheelchair accessible.' Don & Joan Morgan: 'Some call it work, we call it fun! Two acres with an assortment of annuals, perennials, raised beds and trees. Red dawn, numerous dogwoods etc. Look forward to sharing with you!' Margaret Walton and Bruce Peart: Small garden in raised beds on a slope. Three hundred perennials, a small native garden, patio planters, wall planters and a small water feature. Karen Lawrence: Welcome to an award-winning sustainable garden that fosters quality habitat for native flora and fauna. The garden is home to more than 100 native perennials, shrubs, trees, and grasses creatively designed into rain gardens, prairie, and shaded woodland. We grow vegetables as well! The garden is a 'working' ecosystem and you will see areas in various stages of restoration. Both front and rear gardens are open. Laurie and Mike Joyce: 'Want to see what grows in a windy, cool, arid garden? Come see the garden Rob Howard dubbed the 'Chill Zone.'' A variety of plants and pollinators, watered by rain. Emma and Ron Begert: 'We are currently in a rental house (hoping to buy again soon) but we have still created our happy space and have budget-friendly ideas to share with others who may be waiting to find their forever home as well.' Seedlings distributed at a past Open Garden Week stop. Gretha Mikula: A welcoming garden in a tranquil setting showing a labour of love and surprise eclectic art. Doris Ann Etherington and Ken Hyde: 'A garden started in 2015, emphasizing collected perennials and native plants on an irregular shaped lot. Sun and shade, a little bit of everything in a suburban setting, with a few surprises. Accessible for the views on concrete sidewalks.' Mary Roussel: 'A calming, colourful garden with plants for all seasons. Many paths and benches allow quiet viewing of rocks, trees, water features, native plants and birds.' Tricia and Gerry Shulist: 'Grass-free front lawn with a bubbling rock. Multi-level backyard with a pond, three raised beds, 30-year-old wisteria, and lots and lots of hostas. Main level of the backyard is accessible.' (Three kilometres west of roundabout on Hwy. 52.) Al and Carol Payne: 'One acre of hilltop country gardens, 50 years of work building various gardens. Lots of potted containers, hosta, oriental grasses, raised iris beds, along with various shrubs and a rock garden.' Irene Schieberl: 'Still a massive work in progress, no lawns, but plenty of invasive weeds. Transitioning to as many native plants as possible. Many birds attracted to the pond.' Member, Garden Hamilton, MHHS. Ann Bennett: Winding pathways through perennial gardens, interspersed with flowering shrubs, evergreens, patios, ponds; a gazebo and towering black walnut trees for shade, a raised bed garden enclosure for vegetables, all complemented by steel and glass garden art. Cecil and Marjorie Cooke: 'We are in our 80s and still gardening. On our large property there are sun and shade plants as well as a huge vegetable garden. A great variety.' Members, Garden Hamilton, MHHS Laurie and Greg White: Cosy backyard. Quilting meets gardening. Lots of shade perennials and whimsy. Uneven grass path. Fireflies at dusk. Gerry and Ryan Benson: Our small, all-season garden features a variety of perennials — roses, peonies, clematis, perennial hibiscus, and hostas — and is framed by several Japanese maples, pines, and cherry trees, with a few exotic surprises that come out for summer, as well. Mobility accessible. Norm Nelson: 'My garden is 33 years in the making with multiple revamps! It is mostly a lawnless shade garden with perennials, ferns, hostas, evergreens and trees. It has multiple bird baths, metal artwork, pots, urns and statues. A neighbour describes it as Narnia. It's a tranquil setting in a suburban environment.' Kathy Gallagher: 'Immerse yourself in the tranquility of a lovely, peaceful shady perennial garden surrounding the rear yard including a small water feature.' Mitch and Kathy: A pondless waterfall, a garden/landscape sound system with bird and nature sounds, creating an 'experience.' The evening visits would be amazing for gardeners: The lighting for the gardens is truly another experience, creating a dreamy ambience. Accessible. Kathy and Boris Spiwak: The texture and contrast of hostas, ferns, grasses and shade perennials, the sound of water trickling into the pond — all appease the senses under the canopy of Sherwood Forest. Classically informal with a touch of creativity. Member, Garden Hamilton, MHHS. Rubina Khitab: A perennial and hosta garden with lots of whimsy. Come and get some ideas for garage sale items, thrift store treasures and items retrieved from the side of the road placed around the garden. The garden is walker and wheelchair accessible. Diane and Jason Naiker: 'This corner property has no grass, just carefree perennials and shrubs. Annuals in pots are the only plants that get water. Also a large veggie garden.' Member, Garden Hamilton, MHHS. Maryann Botts: 'A beautiful sloping perennial garden with various vegetables, herbs, native and pollinator plants in the mix.' Member, Garden Hamilton, MHHS. Eva Kuehlem: 'I have an extremely large lot, about a half-acre. There are all perennial plants, flowering bushes and native plants. There are over a hundred varieties of plants throughout the garden and also a small vegetable garden. Not all of the garden is for people with mobility issues.' Member, Garden Hamilton, MHHS. Giles and Betty Beaudoin: 'From front garden highlighted with Japanese red maples through our courtyard to secluded natural back oasis with waterfall, stream, ponds. Heirloom tomatoes from collected seeds.' Writer Rob Howard, centre, with a quartet of visitors in his garden in 2012. This is the 30th and last edition of Open Garden Week. (See Garden Walk listings at end.) 982 Concession 8 W. Sue and Gord Taylor: 'We have naturalized our one acre property, catering to birds, bees and butterflies. You will find a Japanese Teahouse, one of a kind she-shed, garden pond, raised bed vegetable gardens, and many brick paths through extensive rock gardens. We have been a recipient of a Trillium Award, a Monarch Award and participated in the Carnegie Gallery Secret Garden Tour.' Annamarie Fackelmann and David Harpur: 'This large garden bordering a ravine features many perennials, deer-resistant plants, shrubs, and Carolinian trees, as well as a vegetable garden, two beehives and a small greenhouse. Accessible.' Margaret Hunsperger: 'Wheelchair accessible walkway, 300 different varieties of hosta, two metasequoia, many Japanese maples, perennials and annuals for pops of colour, pond with soothing waterfall.' Ruth Moffatt and Jim Howden: A four-season garden that takes its cues from nature, with Lake Ontario as a magnificent backdrop. Featured in The Spectator in 2011. Mary Galli: 'Welcome all to my countryside garden, where you can stroll across the lawns and enjoy flower beds and different trees that give shade and beauty.' There are gardens open from Burlington to Grimsby and south to Haldimand. Listings supplied by Flamborough Horticultural Society. FHS has a tent at 130 Mill St. for more information. Gardens are open Saturday, June 28 and 29, unless noted, and all times are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. unless specified.