Art and inspiration in Gardens at Ball

West Chicago horticultural showcase sends visitors home with design ideas for their own yards

The display gardens at Ball Horticultural Company’s home office in West Chicago have been the evaluation and testing grounds for plants from leading breeders and marketers from around the world for more than 80 years. The gardens span 3.6 hectares . . .

Posted: 2024-09-21

Front-step repair creates more welcoming home

Slanted front steps are both unsightly and dangerous. However, the cost to remove and replace old concrete steps can be prohibitive. As such, and depending on certain criteria, the old concrete steps can be salvaged and used as support for . . .

Posted: 2024-09-21

Impeccable design

Parade of Homes entry spacious and inviting

There’s a particular kind of danger associated with building a king-sized home. Which is to say as spacious as a home might be, it must – above all – be purposefully designed. If it isn’t, there’s potential for it to simply . . .

Posted: 2024-09-21

Fresh or frozen?

Super saskatoons are gaining ground with consumer demand for locally grown berry

There was one year when The Purple Berry Orchard needed to put up a sign that said, “Sorry, we don’t grow strawberries.” Today, the customers who flock annually to The Purple Berry Orchard know exactly what they are looking . . .

Posted: 2024-09-14

Joy in a Labour Day maple

I’m no stranger to planting trees. And anyone who knows me well recognizes my love of the process. On my property, over 3, 000 trees have been planted throughout the years, a good chunk of which have recently begun . . .

Posted: 2024-09-14

It’s elemental

Emberwell home has everything a family needs

As much as builders love a challenge, it’s extremely challenging to build a spacious, livable family home on a 34-foot-wide lot. Yet, the design team at Broadview Homes found a way to make their 1, 743 sq. ft., two-storey show . . .

Posted: 2024-09-14

Natural beauty and craftsmanship

There are times, for one reason or another, when something remarkable is hidden from sight. However, you can’t help but marvel at how breathtaking that entity — in this case a home — is until you finally see it. That’s the . . .

Posted: 2024-09-14

Keeping it on the down-low

Ground-level deck a complex project

Contrary to common belief, a low or “ground-level” deck can often present bigger and more time-consuming challenges during the framing stage. Unlike the higher elevation deck built with joists that rest atop a beam, which uniformly supports and levels . . .

Posted: 2024-09-07

Inspiring ideas for seasonal colour

Headingley landscape designed for year-round interest

In late summer, colour starts to fade in the perennial garden but as temperatures cool, the foliage of trees, shrubs and ornamental grasses decorate the landscape with brilliant shades of colour. Often, in a climate with a short growing . . .

Posted: 2024-09-07

Warm and wonderful in Headingley

Spacious bungalow ready for a growing family

One of the most attractive aspects of buying a new home outside city limits is that the lots are much larger than standard city lots. However, as exhilarating as it is for builders to have all that extra space to . . .

Posted: 2024-09-07