Questions for fall
It’s definitely time for me to answer some reader questions. These three questions seem to be the hot ones for fall this year when it comes to indoor and outdoor plant care. “My cedars are turning brown from the inside. Are they dying and what can I do to save them?” Good news, you don’t […]
Everything Old is New Again
October just happened to show up! And, last week, I had a few light-bulb moments. Maybe October is the month for me to shine. I do have light-bulb moments every once in a while. Last week was the most bulbous of all of the light-bulb moments for me. First of all, I think I spend […]
Decision-making
One of my favourite meals is pizza. Not just any pizza, specifically a margherita pizza. Sounds like a simple meal right? Except that the three item pizza— sauce, cheese and dough—is anything but simple. There are countless variations on each. Which tomatoes? Any spices in the sauce? How much garlic? The cheese is of equal […]
Need for more greens
Sometimes I find that the articles I am most excited about come from heated arguments, and this one is no exception. I had a well-known landscape designer approach me to be part of a pitch to a large building developer about adding landscaping and community beautification to all of his projects. While this may seem […]
Time and again
As I write this it’s Sunday and the last full day of summer. By three o’clock tomorrow afternoon it will be Autumn. Like many of all y’all, I’m surprised by how quickly time passes “when you’re having fun”. A much, much, much younger me couldn’t wait for the weekend. No work, no school, no expectations […]
In defence of sweet wines
Whenever I am offered a glass of sweet wine during a dinner, I am reminded of how much I love them. And why I don’t drink them as often as I would like despite having many bottles languishing in my own cellar. Sweet wines can accompany a wide range of palates and plates. Let’s start […]
My pizza oven
Pizza ovens hit the Canadian market in force about 10 years ago, I’m constantly asked by my guests about the one I constructed and the reason behind my choices. I made a conscious choice to go with a less efficient design of pizza oven. The best ovens for wood consumption and for ease of use […]
Wood versus composite
As I travel back and forth across the country speaking at home shows, I keep asking the audience ‘How many people have decks in their backyards’? Pretty sure you won’t be surprised to hear that a majority of people have decks. Then I ask ‘How many people have composite or manmade decks?’ This number drops […]
The “M”Word
Here’s a topic I never, ever, thought I’d be writing about— menopause. Yeah, you read that correctly. Menopause! There are a whole lot of things my mother never warned me about, like childbirth and breastfeeding and toddlers and menstruation, male doctors who don’t listen to female patients and the fact that most women’s dresses don’t […]
Which is best?
When it comes to driveways, I am not a fan of using interlock for the entire space. I have several reasons why: Often interlock is installed without a proper base. We know that in our climate with lots of freeze-thaw periods, a patio needs at least eight to ten inches of drainage gravel (base) to […]