91原创

Dear Helen: My mother is very fond of chrysanthemums. I鈥檇 like to give her a potted 鈥渕um鈥� for Christmas, but I鈥檓 told they are very difficult house plants. Is this true? G.C.

Many people I speak with these days are intent on simplifying and paring down 鈥� the pace of their lives, their possessions. A motto on my fridge reminds me: 鈥淒iscard everything that is not useful, beautiful or loved.

Are you looking for a simple trick to update your rooms and add a personal touch? Take a standard pattern or colourway and tweak it. That might sound odd, but hear me out.

Those making a living from contract or part-time work get cold shoulder from big lenders 鈥� but there are solutions, say mortgage experts

Over the past few months across B.C., there has been an industry struggle to renew strata-corporation insurance policies. With renewals, the cost of the insurance has increased anywhere from 50 to 300 per cent.

Dear Helen: Are there any attractive ground-cover plants that will grow under difficult, hungry-root trees such as cedars? P.G. There are. I can personally attest to the stalwart durability and ornamental value of several.

Opportunities to experiment present themselves from time to time, and plunging into the relative unknown can be an interesting and useful gardening exercise.

Ontario-born Shane Murray has been a builder for 15 years. In that time, he has never torn a house down 鈥� nor does he ever plan to.

If you are committed to white walls for whatever reason, be it renting and not allowed to paint, or it鈥檚 a safe, unobtrusive choice, or pure conservatism, take note of the newest design trend.

If you鈥檙e looking for a crash pad at the 鈥渉igh鈥� end of the market, you could do worse than Tommy Chong鈥檚 home in West 91原创, which just went on the market for a mellow $7 million. That鈥檚 a lot of Acapulco gold.