Homes

Dahlias are garden gifts that keep on giving. The plants churn out flowers from July through to frost, and in most sites and soils they can be treated as hardy perennials, requiring dividing only every few years. Dahlias have history.

Dear Helen: I have a follow-up question to one you answered about over-wintering citrus trees. We were told to put them in our unheated garage, but we decided we’d rather keep the car there. You suggest wrapping.

I’m all about magic delusion these days. It stems from the seasonal process of clearing leaves off lawns, cleaning plots of dead matter, and chopping away at the summer’s rampant overgrowth covering outbuildings and closing off pathways.

Dear Helen: As an extremely busy worker/gardener, I am seeking a shortcut method for processing pumpkin to make purée for using in pies and other things. The usual peeling, cubing and steaming takes a fair amount of time. Is there a quicker way? L.F.

November: Descent into darkness. Soggy and bleak. I love it.

If moving house teaches us anything, it’s that we have too much stuff. And I, for one, acknowledge that fact. But there is a personal limit to what is required and all that stuff does need a place to sit.

Dear Helen: I have a small lemon tree in a pot on my balcony. It has a nice crop of lemons, but some of the leaves are yellowing. Should I fertilize? I’d like to leave the tree outdoors for the winter, with a crop-cover fleece over it if necessary.

Dear Tony: The property manager won’t give us copies of the form F’s and the form B’s that have been issued in the past three years and told us we are not entitled to the forms because of privacy laws.

Dear Helen: For how many years should tulips last in good flowering condition in a garden site? C.B. Most large-flowered tulips will last for three years.

Dear Tony: I am on a strata council that is promoting a bylaw that I believe has serious consequences for our community.