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Condo Smarts: Owners can direct, restrict council only under certain circumstances

Condo Smarts: Owners can direct, restrict council only under certain circumstances

Dear Tony: At our recent AGM our owners approved a special levy for balcony repairs with a specified contractor who had bid on the project.
Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: Reborn into Eden, on a sunny Sunday in fall

Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: Reborn into Eden, on a sunny Sunday in fall

On the gloriously sunny Sunday of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I was back in the garden after a week dealing with a muscle-ache type of flu and another week indulging in a follow-up time of rest.
Helen Chesnut鈥檚 Garden Notes: For festive look, poinsettias need 10-hour days

Helen Chesnut鈥檚 Garden Notes: For festive look, poinsettias need 10-hour days

Dear Helen: I placed two potted poinsettias outside for the summer, where they flourished. Now they鈥檙e back indoors, what conditions and care do they need? Will they form coloured bracts again in December? C.S.
Condo Smarts: Is Airbnb rental covered under a 50-year bylaw exemption?

Condo Smarts: Is Airbnb rental covered under a 50-year bylaw exemption?

Dear Tony: We bought our townhouse in 2014. At the time, it was a new development in Burnaby and the owner developer filed a rental disclosure document that exempted all strata lots, 1-68, from rental bylaws until June 1, 2064.
House Beautiful: Couple settles on Shawnigan Lake dream home

House Beautiful: Couple settles on Shawnigan Lake dream home

Moving to different houses 15 times during their marriage had an unexpected payoff for a Shawnigan Lake couple, who eventually built their retirement home on a gorgeous, lakefront property.
New tool helps determine whether solar panels would be a good idea at your home

New tool helps determine whether solar panels would be a good idea at your home

Residents of Victoria can determine the amount of sunshine almost any building in the city receives over the course of a year with the newly announced Solar Rooftop Tool.
Helen Chesnut鈥檚 Garden Notes: Gratitude abounds among the gardeners

Helen Chesnut鈥檚 Garden Notes: Gratitude abounds among the gardeners

Perhaps it was the challenges of this year鈥檚 growing season that made me so acutely conscious of and thankful for the garden鈥檚 gifts and the many pleasures they bring.
Condo Smarts: Mishandling of special levy opens door to variety of claims

Condo Smarts: Mishandling of special levy opens door to variety of claims

Dear Tony: What happens when there are funds left over from a special levy? I sold my unit six months ago and was informed at the time by council, and it was posted in the minutes, that the balance in the special levy fund for the roof was less than
Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: For bushier dahlia plants, cut out centre tip early on

Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: For bushier dahlia plants, cut out centre tip early on

Dear Helen: The dahlias that I planted have done very well. My question: Is it advisable to cut them down early in the season to promote shorter, bushier plants rather than tall ones? H.B.
Helen Chesnut鈥檚 Garden Notes: Alyssum brings swarms of beneficial hover flies

Helen Chesnut鈥檚 Garden Notes: Alyssum brings swarms of beneficial hover flies

On the morning after the election, I ambled up the gentle incline into the back garden, with the intent of capturing a decent photo of the imposing shoo-fly (Nicandra) plants that had volunteered their presence in two of the vegetable plots.