RENOVATIONS: Victorian gem

Teulon treasure pays homage to grander times

This intriguing story concerns a century-old home in Teulon purchased by a former resident who is now restoring the Victorian manor to its original splendour. Built in 1906 by Frederick Green and his wife Katherine, the three-storey home is situated on . . .

Posted: 2014-01-25

Growing beauty in Birtle

Gallery in the Garden never happened -- but don't tell Val Thomson

What’s the best garden tour you missed? Gallery in the Garden is hosted every July by the Birtle Centre for the Arts but like so many other garden tours this year that were cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic, it . . .

Posted: 2021-09-04

Pamper your patio

And choose patio furniture that doesn't get bears high

I was seated in a polymer chair purchased recently from a big-box outlet, a lovely fillet of beef cooking on the barbecue, when I noted a mother bear and her two cubs bounding toward my position. Seconds later -- from my . . .

Posted: 2013-06-29

Hello Dahlias

From the gardens of kings to your front yard

This time every year my appetite begins to grow for the prospect of bold, audacious colour in the garden. As agreeable as pastel pinks, whites and silvers can be, serving to draw the eye along, illuminating a shady area or acting . . .

Posted: 2015-02-28

Tough stuff for next year's garden

These plants held up to the summer heat and continue to thrive into fall

September’s cooler temperatures are providing most plants with a chance to recoup after a hot and dry summer. Perennials such as roses, Russian Sage, hydrangea, helenium, rudbeckia, ornamental grasses and many other varieties are bringing new life to the garden. As . . .

Posted: 2018-09-15

RENOVATIONS: Dealing with decks

A look at planking, from treated and natural lumber to composite materials

Decks have become so ubiquitous that it's difficult to find a house or cottage that doesn't have some elevated appendage jutting into the back or front yard. Scientists suggest our need to dwell above the earth may be related to . . .

Posted: 2013-05-04

GARDENING: Spring back to life

Feeling a bit ravaged by the long winter? Imagine spending all of it outdoors these past several months. Given all that trees and shrubs must contend with from Mother Nature -- extreme temperatures, high winds, storms, pest infestations -- they . . .

Posted: 2014-04-26

It's all clear

Choosing new windows for your home

It can be difficult to decide on the best choice of window for a new or retrofitted house because window technology has become very sophisticated in the last 20 or so years. Back in the day, most windows were constructed of . . .

Posted: 2013-02-02

RENOVATIONS: Shedding light on window treatments

Hi-tech or traditional, blinds, drapes, curtains and shutters will enhance any home

Modern window coverings can now be opened and closed by pushing a button on your iPad. As I don't own an iPad, I haven't been able to open my blinds since they were installed three years ago. I suspect, even if . . .

Posted: 2013-06-22

The benefits of xeriscaping

Enjoy an environmentally sustainable landscape that is lush & green

When many people hear the term xeriscaping, they immediately think of a desert landscape or a landscape filled with rocks, stones and gravel either placed in a seemingly unkempt naturalistic look or even as ornamentally co-ordinated patterns of different-coloured pebbles . . .

Posted: 2013-01-12