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Until recently, two properties on the block still displayed bright green, amply watered lawns and boulevards. My next-door neighbour was one.

Dear Debbie: I fell in love with a light fixture when shopping for some replacement lighting for our home. But it鈥檚 far too modern for the rest of our home鈥檚 country-style decor.

It was a perfect ending for a hard-slogging gardening day as I lowered my grimy self into the sparkling clear, sun-flecked water at a nearby beach. A swim brought deliverance from the heat and restored needed energy.

Dear Tony: We purchased a great condo in an older building on the North Shore. We have run into an issue with the strata council and we would like to resolve this as amicably as possible to avoid any conflict with our neighbours.

I stepped into the back garden to check on the tomatoes and was immediately diverted by a nearby carpet of flowering thyme that appeared to be moving. It was, with the rapid movement of bees among the blossoms.

Dear Debbie:We have retired to an Airstream trailer so that we can travel around the country.

Dear Helen: I have a聽few broad, congested clumps of bearded iris that need splitting up even though they did produce flowers this year. When should this division be done, and how?F.L.

The sloping waterfront property on Salt Spring Island was very appealing to its new owners because of its southwest exposure and the way the house snuggles into the rocky slope. But major structural changes were necessary, said builder Derek Sowden.

On the Cowichan Garden Tour last month I spoke with a gardener who has successfully protected a group of hostas and a prized clematis from deer browsing by planting garlic at the two sites.

Dear Tony: When I bought my home in 2005, I was told by the seller, who was the president of council at the time, I was responsible for my limited common property garden areas around my patio.