Organic Gardening News

Planting a Zone 8 garden means lots of time for growing and harvests! Learn what to plant each month in Zone 8.

From sugar snap peas to homegrown eggs, this woman's garden replaces her grocery run. Here's the exact plant list and how to build the same setup.

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Heat tolerant, colorful, and easy as anything to grow? All hail this new container garden star!

Sage is more than just a kitchen herb – it’s a rugged, drought-tolerant ornamental that brings intriguing texture and pollinators to your yard. Dive into our expert guide to cultivating this impeccably aromatic, silver-leafed beauty

What are those pops of foam on the grass, and what causes them? Meet the lawn resident that lives in a bubble bath, and find out what to do if you spot foamy eruptions

Grow strawberries in a hanging planter for lots of fruit in a small space: plant one this spring for sweet, slug-free berries all summer long.

Planting your seeds well makes all the difference between a sparse bed of blooms and one that's lush. I asked gardening experts what they think about Martha Stewart's tried-and-trusted method.

If you plant these flower seeds in April, you can look forward to a backyard that blooms with gusto. There’s no better time to get started, quite frankly!

Keep wasps away from your summer gatherings by preparing your porch in spring. These easy methods of deterring wasps will make your backyard barbecues safer.

Selective weed control is all about biology. Discover why this mineral kills weeds, while actually making your grass greener and healthier.

Growing bell peppers in containers is easier than you think, and oh so rewarding. Here is how to get rainbow results and crunchy bell harvests even in tiny spaces

If interior designer Taylor Reiko could go back in time and give her teenage self a piece of advice, it would be this: It’s possible your dream job doesn’t actually exist yet, or the path to it isn’t clear. So take a deep breath, pursue what you love, and everything will work out.

Reiko is one of eight contestants selected for season 3 of Renovation Resort with judges Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler, which premieres April 5 on Home Network. The series follows four teams from across North America as they transform a neglected lakeside property in the Kawarthas into a dream vacation destination, competing for a $100,000 grand prize. Reiko was paired with builder Mehrdad Amini for the competition.

For a designer whose work is usually shaped through careful collaboration and a deep understanding of how clients live, the experience was quite a test, says Reiko.

That tension between speed and soul is part of what makes Reiko such an interesting fit for television. She is not a designer interested in spectacle for its own sake. What matters to her is how a space feels when someone walks into it.

Even in a short-term rental, where the future occupants are unknown, she was thinking beyond finishes and furniture. Reiko says she was aware that the people using this vacation property would be coming from all walks of life, with different experiences and needs.

“I asked myself, how do I want to make them feel? How do I want to feel when I’m on vacation?”

How a room makes you feel

There is something instantly appealing about Reiko’s approach to interiors. It is thoughtful without being stiff, design-forward and warm.

Openness is central to her design philosophy.

“I’ve never wanted to put myself in a box,” she says.

Reiko seems drawn to the emotional dimension of design. The subtle but powerful way rooms can change how people connect, relax and stay awhile.

Before interior design, Reiko studied sociology and worked in event planning and hospitality. At one restaurant, she noticed how the setting affected the way people behaved.

Patrons would wait for hours to sit in a particular space within the restaurant, she says. It was an area with a gallery wall that somehow felt elevated and especially appealed to diners celebrating a special occasion: “People wanted to stay there longer.”

Good design is not just visual. It alters experience. It can make people linger, settle in and feel taken care of, says Reiko.

The path less travelled

Reiko says she’s always been a creative person, but growing up, this wasn’t always considered something to celebrate.

She did what many young adults do and followed the approved path: university, with the hope of finding a good profession, even if it was not where her passion lay.

After travelling to Japan and reflecting more deeply on design, culture and architecture, she enrolled in night school at BCIT to study interior design.

“Like every other designer in school, I started an Instagram account and added ‘designer’ after my name”, she says. Taylor Reiko became Taylor Reiko Design .

COVID changed everything, says Reiko. Because everyone was working from home, people started asking her to design home offices for them. She designed five offices in quick succession.

Reiko’s is a modern design story, one built almost entirely through social media.

She is candid about the awkwardness that often comes before progress. Setting up a tripod in public, posting your work, backing your instincts before you feel fully ready.

“I wasn’t afraid to lean into embarrassment,” she said.

Leading with what lights you up

Asking yourself what you really want out of life is so important, says Reiko.

That search for honesty seems to have shaped her work. Her design projects feel personal and welcoming even when the setting is a lakeside competition property created under pressure.

For viewers tuning in to Renovation Resort, Reiko is one to watch.

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The ideal privacy tree grows fast, hides your yard from prying eyes, but doesn’t take over the whole landscape. These varieties hit all those marks and more.

A Kelowna couple who were waiting for their purchase of a Big White condo to close learned on the day that the sale was supposed to complete that it wasn’t going to happen.

“We really didn’t think anything was wrong until the closing date,” said Anne Marie Kirby after losing a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court to recoup the couple’s losses. “Our lawyer asked us, ‘Why am I not getting the closing documents?’”

In a case the judge called “the stuff of nightmares,” the lawyer for Kirby and her husband, Russell Kirby, had been dealing not with the owners, Luke and Kim McNally, who live in South Africa, but with unidentified fraudsters, who had passed themselves off as the McNallys, said Anne Marie.

Both the Kirbys and the McNallys sued Kelowna realtor Gary Turner and the brokerage Royal LePage Kelowna, seeking damages.

But after a nine-day trial, Justice Elin Sigurdson ruled Turner, who represented the fraudsters, believing they were the McNallys, didn’t owe either couple a duty of care because he wasn’t representing them.

But she did say their case “merits considerable sympathy.”

She wrote that the “intrusion and trickery” committed by the fraudsters was an invasion of privacy, an attempt at significant theft, and caused harms ranging from inconvenience to lost time and expenses, as well as “lost opportunity cost” in the value of the property.

She called it a “psychological disruption” that was “extremely distressing.”

“We’re just glad it’s over, it’s been five years,” said Anne Marie Kirby.

And they realized the ordeal could have been a lot worse. The deal for the $600,000 condo at the popular Interior ski resort fortunately fell through after the fraud was detected, but the Kirbys were left with a loss of about $75,000. That included fees for conveyance, legal and other fees, as well as the loss of the equity they would have gained had they purchased the unit, the judgment said.

The fraudsters vanished and they don’t know and likely will never know who they are, the couple said.

They sued Turner and Royal LePage Kelowna, alleging they were negligent for not properly identifying his clients and were seeking $75,000 in damages, they said. The McNallys were claiming their own undisclosed damages.

But Sigurdson concluded that at the time that the realtor defendants “took the steps they were responsible to take, at the time they were required to take them.”

The defendants therefore did not breach the standard of care expected of them, and they were not liable for negligent representation, she wrote.

The plaintiffs alleged Turner and others involved should have been found not credible, saying they were “evasive and dishonest” and their evidence was affected by their self-interest.

Turner and Royal LePage Kelowna disagreed, saying any allegations of dishonesty by Turner aren’t supported by evidence, according to the judgment.

Turner had asked for and had never received the ID documents from the fraudsters he had requested, but instead the fraudsters, who had broken into the McNallys’ email, had sent fake South African passports for the McNallys, according to the ruling.

It was never determined how they obtained the McNallys’ personal information, Sigurdson wrote.

She said she couldn’t conclude on the facts that the defendants should be liable because of negligent representation and dismissed the lawsuit.

“The McNallys and the Kirbys did nothing wrong,” she said. “They were unknowing victims of email impersonators who aimed to profit or cause mischief or both.”

But, she added: “I must assess the facts of this case on the basis of the standards in place at the time, and not on what I wish or believe should have taken place.”

“The judgment speaks for itself in the complete exoneration of the agent and the brokerage,” Turner’s lawyer, Kelly Murray, said in an email.

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If sports gear, kids’ toys, and holiday decorations are slowly swallowing up your house, creeping into your home office or taking over your craft room, there’s extra space you may not have considered: your garage. Who said it was the sole domain of a car, anyway?

A garage is an extension of your home and, with the right design and organization, can be repurposed as an office, gym, hobby room, yoga studio, man cave/she shed, playroom or, yes, a place to store your stuff, but neatly.

Where to start

There are plenty of professional organizers and storage designers who will take up the challenge for you. They’ll usually start by asking about your situation, your garage hopes and dreams, then they’ll come to your house, assess the space, take measurements, and sketch out some options using design software.

Next, floor. Material of choice is polyaspartic coating for its durability, low odour, low maintenance, stain-, heat- and fade-resistance, as well as fast drying — usually 24 to 48 hours.

The alternative, epoxy, doesn’t hold up as well. “After you drive on it, you’ll usually notice the flooring start to peel in spots around where the tires sit,” says Cristy Phillips, chief operations officer of Clever Quarters in Port Coquitlam. “Polyaspartic was built for the changing environment in a garage, so it’s a lot more flexible; you won’t see any cracking. It’s also chemical-resistant, poreless, food-safe, easy to clean, and it looks beautiful. It feels more like an indoor space versus outdoor.”

Maya Ushikubo of Port Coquitlam’s Garage Living , says of their own brand, “Our Floortex polyaspartic floor coating has a 15-year warranty and comes in 15 flake colours, as well as custom colours. It’s the highest grade, industrial strength coating that is UV stable, in comparison to epoxy.”

Phillips says if you plan to use your revamped garage as an office, she’ll ask about the equipment you’ll be using, your height, whether you’re left- or right-handed, in order to tailor a design.

“If the client is left-handed and needs to take notes during their work, we’ll install drawers on the left-hand side for easy access, but also to create that blank space to give them an extra work zone to put a notebook,” she says.

She recalls her garage squad’s work for a couple whose job required lots of counter space. Her designers sourced a unique piece of hardware that pulls out from a desk to extend the work station but can also be pushed flush with the depth of the desk when not in use, allowing more floor space.

“There are even fold-out tables, pullout desks or tilt-down desks [that fit] into a wall unit that has additional storage and other capacities,” she says.

Garage Living’s crew will also quiz you about your plans. “We always ask, ‘What’s your biggest challenge with your garage right now, and how do you use your garage?’,” says Ushikubo. “These two questions help our design consultants visualize the space for a full custom garage makeover. Then it comes down to slat wall panel and custom cabinet configurations, overhead racks, TV mounting, with space to install a sink, hose, fridge, freezer box, wine cooler, etc.”

She says the company has tackled garage makeovers as diverse as offices, social gathering space, gyms, cold storage and doggie daycares.

Storage solves

Phillips herself has a narrow, one-car garage, so she focused on the vertical space when she redesigned it for better storage. She had slat walls installed to tilt the family’s four bikes on, then added cabinets to house soccer balls and softball equipment, as well as an overhead storage rack to tuck away seasonal decor. Her husband’s workbench and tools take up the back part of the garage. “A narrow garage is often deeper, so designing on the back wall gives you more room at the front.”

She says Clever Quarters mounts cabinetry six inches off the ground for easy sweeping and mopping, “and getting those spiders, cobwebs and creepy-crawlies out from underneath.”

Joseph Neely, president of The Indoor Outdoor Guy Renovations Inc. , together with Vancouver Sheds , a division of Indoor Outdoor that builds or repurposes garages, studios and sheds, says, “Some people build a wall down the middle of the garage, perpendicular to the garage door, get rack shelving for storage, and then have a door at the other end to access the area they’ve set up as a gym, home office, hobby room, or man cave.” (He notes that, if you’re building a garage or shed from the ground up, there’s a permitting process required which the company can help with.)

Heat and light

Once your space has been assessed, the flooring finished, slat walls installed to hang your gear, cabinets fitted to store your stuff, or drawers to file your work, you’ll need to think about heating and lighting for the space’s specific use.

“If the garage has been built correctly, it will be insulated and drywalled so an electric baseboard will provide the heat,” says Neely.

He recommends changing out the garage door for a newer model that comes with an R rating suitable for the space and a double seal to keep out the cold.

As for light, Neely says the more natural light the better. “If you’re using your garage for potting, a workshop, or office, we recommend as much natural light as possible, so three windows are ideal, and a French or sliding glass door to let in lots of light and fresh air.”

Phillips says Clever Quarters incorporates lighting into the cabinetry, usually an ambient glow for mood. “In a workspace, like a work bench, we’ll do maybe 4,000 [Kelvin] temperature track lighting underneath the cabinet shining down on the work surface. For an office, we would probably warm up the temperature to 3,000. Most garage lighting is decorative and less task, so we would do back lighting to illuminate open shelves where someone might be storing prized possessions.”

Music room or garage band

Whether you’re aspiring to be the 21st century Mozart or the new Nirvana, designing your space as a music room or for a garage band will come with some sound considerations.

“Everyone’s got the right to the peaceful enjoyment of their premises, so you want to make sure that your enjoyment isn’t inhibiting somebody else’s,” says Neely.

“If you’re putting in good exterior grade doors and windows, which is what we use, that’s going to cut the sound down by about 50 per cent,” as will sound-absorbing insulation, says Neely. “There’s also higher-grade drywall for soundproofing. But if you want to jam with the amps on full, you should really look at an actual wall assembly that reduces sound. We’re happy to design that into a new garage build.”

Man cave/She shed

The stereotypical “man cave” with couch, wall-mounted TV, and beer fridge may not have gone the way of the Neanderthals, but the “she shed” has gained in popularity. “Usually (women) use them for office space, bookshelves, to store workout gear, sometimes (arts and crafts), or just as a hangout,” says Phillips, who would then design with those specifications in mind. “Over COVID, I think men lost their man cave and it became the family cave.”

When designing a mud room for cleaner flow from cave to dwelling, she says, “We’d build shoe storage, storage for jackets, maybe hooks, slat walls for growing families so you can adapt as your needs change. Maybe today it’s a small bike but in a few years, it’ll be an adult-sized bike. The ability to move hooks without drilling any additional holes in the wall is very beneficial.”

Regardless of how you transform your garage, Phillips says you should keep open about the possibility that it will go back to housing your ride.

“People often say they’re never going to park a car in their garage again, but if it’s not your forever home, the next buyer may want to. If we designed it to never park a car, it’s not beneficial to the resale of your home.”

Until then, park yourself, paint a picture, do some work, crank the tunes and enjoy your extra space.

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When Dr. Paul and Mrs. Josephine Hwang commissioned Arthur Erickson in 1980 to design them a home that would, according to the Vancouver Heritage Foundation , “nestle in private gardens and incorporate both Western and Eastern influences”, the renowned Canadian architect turned for inspiration to the traditional houses of Soochow (known today as Suzhou) in southeastern China’s Jiangsu Province, which were built around the city’s canals, bridges and classical gardens.

Two houses were typically positioned in opposite directions with a common back wall, featuring corridors of rooms and second-storey balconies that overlooked a collection of courtyards, decks and some form of water. The interiors were designed to flow seamlessly into exterior gardens and water features, such as ponds or waterfalls, to create a sense of peace and tranquillity.

The project suited Erickson just fine, since his signature style of designing his structures to integrate gently into the natural environment followed the same philosophy. Two years later, he had created a home, which came to be known as the Hwang House , with floor-to-ceiling windows that immersed his clients into an expanse of greenery, trees and water, including a waterfall designed by a feng shui master. A bridge spanning a large koi pond planted with lilies and bulrushes and swirling with a dozen koi fish completes the sanctuary.

“In a lot of Vancouver homes, 10,000 square feet are not fully usable, but in this property you can use the entire 10,500 square feet,” says listing agent Daniel Tan of Angell Hasman & Associates Realty. “The courtyard features a sitting area for entertaining and barbecues” and the garden was redesigned in 2014 by Donna Begg of Perennial Design landscapers to include a mix of shrubbery and flowering plants.

That same year, a new bridge and perimeter cedar fence were installed, as were new front and back gates, two rebuilt waterfalls and new garden lighting.

The living room is encased in tall windows with a curved cantilevered skylit extension that gives the sensation of floating above the pond, again recalling the blending of interior and exterior elements of those original Soochow houses. “The reflections in the water, along with the skylights and the floor-to-ceiling glass, create a beautiful play of light throughout the home during the day,” says Tan.

What’s inside

In 2011, the owners at the time installed new custom-made closets, bookcases and cabinetry in the main floor TV room. They also redesigned the basement bathroom to include a walk-in shower. That year they completed a partial kitchen renovation and installed new Miele appliances as well as custom cabinetry.

In 2013, the carpets in the family, living and formal dining room were replaced with high-quality wool carpet and new underlay at a cost of about $30,000, says Tan.

The 22 Douglas fir posts and beams throughout the home, a familiar Erickson motif that evokes Indigenous buildings of the West Coast, were replaced in 2014 and reinforced with interior steel. The two main floor fireplaces were converted to gas in 2014.

Upstairs, which is air-conditioned, a walkway is illuminated by a collection of continuous skylights that runs the length of the house (all the skylights and windows were replaced in 2014) beneath a pitched roof. “When I show the home during the day, most of the time I don’t have to turn on the lights because of the massive windows and skylights throughout the whole house that fill it with natural lighting,” says Tan.

The four bedrooms each feature their own skylit private deck with sliding wood screens. “The screens have many holes in them, which allows the natural light to come in but also allows you to close them for privacy,” says Tan. “You can slide them left or right for whichever view you prefer,” which is especially lovely when the cherry trees are in full blossom.

Tan says the primary bathroom, also with a skylight, feels like a five-star hotel, with soaker tub, walk-in shower, bidet and, as with all the upstairs bathrooms, heated towel racks. The three upstairs bathrooms were totally gutted and rebuilt with high-end and custom-built cabinetry in 2014.

On the lower level, one room was originally designed as a children’s playroom, but is now being used as an office and could easily be converted to a gym or library. For the oenophile, a glass-enclosed wine cellar holds more than 200 bottles.

In a city known for modern luxury homes, this Arthur Erickson residence stands apart because of its architectural significance, says Tan. “It’s a timeless piece of Vancouver design where nature, light and architecture come together. When you look at most Vancouver homes in this price range, they often have the same designers, same builders, so they can look very generic.”

He says the ideal buyer for the Hwang House is someone who appreciates unique architectural design, “who understands that this isn’t just a house but a collectible piece of Vancouver architecture. It is a rare opportunity to own a residence designed by Arthur Erickson, one of Canada’s most celebrated architects. Homes like this aren’t just properties, they are pieces of Vancouver’s architectural history.”

In the neighbourhood

There are numerous nearby schools in this Marpole neighbourhood. There are also plenty of playgrounds and parks, including a dog park, within walking distance. Queen Elizabeth Park is a 10-minute drive away, while VanDusen Botanical Garden is just five minutes away.

As for public transportation, Tan says, “The bus stop is at 57th and Hudson Street, which is like a front door pickup.”

He says the property has easy access to downtown over the Oak or Cambie Street bridges, and the airport is a 10-minute drive away. Langara Golf Course is a seven-minute drive, and Point Grey Golf & Country Club eight minutes.

The home sits between the many shops, services and restaurants of either Granville Street in one direction or Oak Street in the other, with the new Oakridge Park redevelopment just five minutes away.

Location: 1299 W. 57th Avenue, Vancouver

Listed for: $5,998,000

Year built: 1982

Type: Four bedrooms, five bathrooms

Size: 4,573 square feet

Realtor: Listed by Daniel Tan, Angell & Hasman Associates

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Fresh, in every sense. KitchenAid has announced its colour of the year for 2026 to be Spearmint, a minty green with blue undertones, offering a style pick-me-up, no matter your kitchen design. The brand has released this colour on one of their more  iconic appliances, the Artisan Series 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer.

Adding to the bold colour choice is an unexpected texture, which they’re calling Sand. The whole concept is meant to evoke a spearmint leaf, in both look and feel.

This new colour and textured finish feel like a definite design moment for 2026 and reflect the move toward personality plus kitchens.

After years of safe neutrals, soft whites and endless grey, many of us are ready for something that feels lighter and more alive. That does not necessarily mean painting the cabinets coral, although that goes with Spearmint, or tiling the backsplash in red. Accessories are a great place to take risks. Worst case, you can put them in a cupboard.

While noticeable, Spearmint is not loud or splashy. It’s crisp, fresh and calming.

“Spearmint is incredibly versatile, and it uplifts everything it touches, so it can work well in any space to add energy and freshness. It can harmonize with an already bright space or bring a fresh pop of colour to a darker kitchen,” says Chad Ries, global brand marketing director at KitchenAid small appliances.

This versatility matters. In a light-filled kitchen, Spearmint feels crisp and airy. In a darker room, particularly during the winter months, it feels calm and meditative.

“Spearmint is a mood booster and can offer a fresh outlook and moment of lightness, even in the darker months. We hope that this revitalizing colour helps makers be more present in the moment and in the kitchen,” says Ries.

An easy way into colour

If you’re colour-shy, a statement appliance is one of the easiest places to start. It’s less expensive than painted millwork, less permanent than tile and much more fun than a throw pillow. You can live with it, move it, style it and see how much colour you are actually comfortable with.

A statement appliance is a great way to explore different colour combinations and integrate a pop of colour into your kitchen without having to go too far out of your comfort zone, says Ries.

Surprisingly, Spearmint seems to go with almost everything. It’s not so pastel that it demands a retro kitchen, and not so sharp that it only suits sleek modern spaces.

“Thanks to its blend of blues and greens, Spearmint can either stand out as a statement or seamlessly blend into its surroundings. It pairs just as well with dark or light woods and works beautifully in both cool and warm spaces,” says Ries.

Spearmint sits happily beside walnut cabinetry, creamy painted cupboards, marble counters or brushed steel. It also plays well with the broader shift back toward layered kitchens that feel lived in and personal, not overly polished, he says.

A surprisingly soft finish

In design, texture is often what stops a colour from feeling one-note. This mixer’s sand finish makes the Spearmint colour feel slightly softer and more grounded.

“For Spearmint, we wanted to get the finish just right and we explored everything from glossy, matte, satin, and textured. Ultimately, we looked to mint leaves for inspiration and wanted to tap into the soft, subtle texture you only notice when you touch them. The Sand finish softens Spearmint’s brightness and gently diffuses the light, resulting in a shade that feels both grounding and energizing,” he says.

Does this tactile finish mean it’s harder to care for?

No, says Ries. It has gone through KitchenAid’s standard materials testing.

“Based on initial feedback and responses, the sand finish does appear to hide fingerprints well,” he says.

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The nature of gardening today has changed dramatically as have the demographics of the folks who participate. Based on various garden statistics, the Boomer generation now makes up less that 10 per cent of the gardening community, while Gens X, Y and Z are the vast majority.

The size of today’s gardens has also diminished as so many of our younger generations live in apartments, condos and townhouses, where outdoor space is limited. A few years ago, it was estimated that 54 per cent of gardening was done in containers. I expect that number has increased over the past few years. Even the traditional in-ground garden patches have given way to raised beds and narrow strips along fence lines.

Our changing climate, with more and longer periods of extreme heat, is a reality and the growing adoption of regenerative gardening is creating a new approach to our gardening practices as well.

The one issue we seldom talk about, but one which is at the heart of everything we do in our gardens, is the tools we use. I had the opportunity to speak with Ashley Towers of Hornwood Agencies, which distributes garden tools to the horticultural retail sector, and he pointed out that the tools we use in the garden today are significantly different from past models. He said that with so much container gardening, there is little or no need for traditional tools, and that with smaller outdoor spaces, there is also little room for traditional garden storage sheds.

In addition, he pointed out that in an aging Boomer generation, more lightweight garden tools are in demand. For instance, traditional D-handled forks and shovels are now available in smaller, lighter, but equally efficient sizes, and are well suited to raised beds and containers.

According to Towers, hand tools are far more appropriate for today’s gardens and demographics and are much easier to store. When I asked him if there was a new favourite tool, he said the Japanese Hori Hori knife was the winner. It’s a traditional Japanese garden tool that has become a favourite for gardeners around the world. The curved stainless-steel blade is a combination knife and narrow trowel so the tip can be used as a shovel, making it ideal for weeding and digging in many types of soil. The blade is marked with measurements which is perfect for transplanting. One side of the blade is smooth while the other side is serrated so it’s practical for both cutting and edging.

I was also able to speak with Trudy Hurley, assistant manager of the Lee Valley Tools Vancouver store. Lee Valley, founded in Ottawa in 1978 and now with 20 stores across Canada, is innovative and supplies tools and equipment for many disciplines including gardening. Hurley was well aware of the demographic change in gardening and the shift from ground beds to containers.

Lee Valley has a full line of lightweight spades, forks, rakes, bulb planters and other practical tools for both traditional gardens and raised beds and containers. Hurley said they have been monitoring changing garden trends for some time and, in fact, have developed their own line of more appropriate tools, including rakes, forks, spades and hoes, which are about half the size of traditional tools and are very easy to use, especially for older folks. Hurley said these mid-length tools are well priced, in the $45-50 range, and have become increasingly popular. They are just the right size for container work, whether you need to turn over all the soil, or just work in some compost.

Many gardeners today have physical challenges to navigate, which can make garden preparation especially daunting. Hurley mentioned that Lee Valley offers a good range of ergonomic hand tools, making it much easier to manage many garden chores. Many of these tools have uniquely shaped circular or curved handles, allowing them to be held sideways. They are also light weight, making them easier to use. This is an enormous help to folks with arthritis and other debilitating health issues.

Hurley also mentioned that watering is becoming an issue, involving dragging hoses, possibly several times a day, during hot weather. With water use also of greater concern, she said drip watering systems have also become more popular. These systems use far less water and put the moisture directly where it’s needed most- right at the root zone.

The heavy, hard lifting of garden soil preparation can truly be made a great deal easier with today’s smaller and more efficient garden tools. I have been using them for many years, for greater efficiency and a lighter workload. A smaller, D-handled shovel is one of the most practical garden tools I have ever used, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to the changing garden environment, it’s nice to know these tools are available in many garden and hardware stores and great places like Lee Valley Tools.

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Every now and then, a family needs a fresh start. For the owners of an aging Craftsman home in West Vancouver, the moment came after a decade in their space. And they’d reached a point where they needed to buy something more modern and move — or renovate.

They had no qualms about the location, a cedar-lined plot tucked away from neighbouring views and overlooking the ocean to UBC, Stanley Park and beyond.

“The clients love that piece of property. It’s really fantastic,” says Brad Ingram, design manager of North Vancouver’s Synthesis Design . “So they decided they didn’t want to give up that site.” Once committed to renovating, they got Synthesis onboard.

In addition to a fresher, modern esthetic, they wanted to make the 7,000-square-foot home more viable long-term, integrating features for aging in place, such as a central elevator.

“Redesigning the upper floor, main floor and basement to allow for an elevator, and then also redesigning the staircase so that we could fit it all in, was a big challenge,” says Ingram.

With the couple’s two daughters still living at home — one in high school and one in university — the renovation also needed to support a household that wasn’t in a hurry to disperse. This is a scenario that the project design team, Ingram and Synthesis senior designer Julie Lepper, say they’re seeing more and more.

“Clients are telling us that they want their kids to stay home longer, whereas for many years it was, ‘OK, you’re 18, out you go to the world,’” says Lepper.

Altogether, the changes amounted to a full overhaul. “It was basically a full gut,” says Ingram.

One of the home’s biggest upgrades was also the most visible: removing walls and rethinking the main floor to create a kitchen that could function as the hub of the home.

To maximize working space and keep the open-plan space uncluttered, a bank of oak cabinetry houses storage and disguises appliances along the back wall, including a Sub-Zero freezer and fridges.

“They like to cook all together, so, there was a lot of thinking about how multiple people could be in the kitchen at once and not be on top of each other,” says Lepper.

A 10-by-20-foot L-shaped counter wraps around a long central island, creating what feels like miles of surface for cooking, prepping and cleaning as a crew. A four-foot galley sink with two faucets, a second sink, double ovens and double dishwashers complete the setup.

Seating is just as plentiful. Between counter stools and a counter-height table with seating, the kitchen could easily host a large gathering on its own. But a 15-foot-wide sliding glass wall opens to make the kitchen feel part of the backyard. “When that opens up, it’s almost like you’re sitting outside,” Lepper says.

This flow carries through to a new outdoor living room, which wraps a pre-existing pool in an L-configuration. An overhang provides cover, allowing the space to function year-round, with an exterior fireplace, heaters and automated blinds that drop down to shade or hold warmth, while sofas, chairs, a pizza oven, barbecue and TV create a “resort feel,” says Ingram.

Also resort-like is a custom cedar sauna, around a corner under an existing overhang, paired with a cabana-style bathroom for changing and showering.

This isn’t the only sauna on the property, though: it has a private, spa-inspired counterpart in the primary ensuite upstairs, alongside a roomy steam shower.

“We throw around ‘spa-like bathrooms’ all the time, whether [we’re talking about] a 600-square-foot house or mega mansion, but this was very well-considered,” says Lepper. “On a wet, cold, typical Vancouver day, to be able to hop into your steam shower then have a quick sauna is truly luxury.”

The second floor was reconfigured to give all four bedrooms a private ensuite — allowing each family member autonomy within the shared space. A former bathroom and hallway became a light-filled home office enclosed in glass. “It was meant for the homeowner,” Ingram says, “but apparently the kids love that room so much.”

More skylights, over the staircase, bring daylight deeper into the interior, while a glass balustrade edged in black metal creates a graphic focal point.

“That was a bit of a happy accident,” Lepper says of the detailing. “It turned out much better than I had imagined.”

While the renovation gave the home a more modern profile, the team retained portions of the original exterior cladding, combined a new standing-seam metal roof and cedar shingles that nod to its Craftsman roots.

“We blended a little bit of the original architecture with a lot of modern elements,” Ingram says.

For Ingram and Lepper, the project was an example of what can happen when architecture and interiors unfold in tandem.

“It was really a lovely collaboration between interior design and architecture,” Lepper says. “There isn’t that disconnect you sometimes get. We could just walk downstairs and work it through together.”

Project design: Synthesis Design

Project construction: Kennedy Construction

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