Renovation & Design

Renovation & Design

Colleen Zacharias / Free Press Located in a peaceful setting in Oakbank, the Choquettes’ pond features a waterfall and water lilies.

Garden grandees

Colleen Zacharias 8 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity at Robert and Susan Choquette’s spacious rural property in Oakbank. They have been busy preparing multiple gardens for winter, digging and storing scores of canna rhizomes, and bringing tender plants indoors for the winter.

The couple’s stunning property was featured on this year’s Gardens of Distinction tour by Nature Manitoba which was held on July 4.

Visitors were wowed by the abundant plantings of flowering annuals in a long, curved border at the entrance to the garden. A mixed planting reminiscent of a traditional formal border includes marigolds and classic red salvia (Salvia splendens) with taller layers of colourful zinnias and stately, white-flowered Nicotiana.

“I would have had more zinnias this year if it hadn’t been for the cold weather we experienced in spring,” says Robert, who is an avid gardener. “I transplanted 350 seedlings in the spring and kept them in our gazebo, but I only had one heater running and 80 per cent of them died.” Robert started new plants from seed and filled one entire bed with zinnias which quickly grew thigh-high once warmer temperatures arrived.

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Renovation & Design

The 18-inch protruded beams had begun to rot and decay in recent years.

From rotting and unsightly, to streamlined and maintenance-free

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Preview

From rotting and unsightly, to streamlined and maintenance-free

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

The homeowners had enough — after years of ongoing repairs, the days of the extended beams protruding from the perimeter of the flat-roof garage were numbered.

The question was, how best to tackle this outdated and cumbersome attribute? Although the introduction of full and partial rooflines was discussed at great length, any approach that required altering the existing roofline seemed far too complicated and somewhat cost-prohibitive. A far better and more elegant solution would soon provide a streamlined and eye-pleasing look.

It was true, each of the two dozen or so protruding beams along the entire perimeter of the flat-roof garage exhibited decay and rot to some degree. The process of cutting them off would require a long blade on a reciprocating saw, and fine-tuning of each cut with an oscillating tool.

Once the vertical faces along the upper portion of every wall were flush, the initial step would involve sealing the cuts along the flashing to eliminate the possibility of any moisture creeping in until the process to decoratively sheathe the upper perimeter was completed.

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Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Renovation & Design

Colleen Zacharias photo Tim Evans in his St. James garden, which sits along the Assiniboine River.

Travel-inspired exotic garden in St. James is a peaceful oasis

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Travel-inspired exotic garden in St. James is a peaceful oasis

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Step into Tim Evans’ distinctive garden at any time during the growing season and it’s clear that he does not believe in doing anything by half measures. Every part of his garden on a quiet street in St. James is an elaborate feast for the eyes.

All the elements of a well-appointed garden were on display this summer — towering elm trees, fruit trees such as apricot, pear and plum, and collections of unique perennials, including some that have been grown from seeds purchased overseas. He grows several varieties of Thalictrum meadow rue. A favourite source is Plant World Seeds in England.

Evans brightened his shady front entrance this year with container arrangements planted exclusively with white flowers. The tall fence along the entrance to his backyard is densely covered in Virginia creeper vine. This summer, he hung hanging planters containing white angel wing begonias from large hooks that were completely concealed by the vine’s foliage so that it appeared as though the vine itself was blooming.

From the spacious multi-tiered deck organized into different seating zones that runs adjacent to Evans’ house, there are tantalizing views of the Assiniboine River which flows by the edge of the sloped property. An intriguing Victory Orangery solarium greenhouse perched near the top of the slope arouses curiosity. But we’ll go back to that later.

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Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Renovation & Design

Marc LaBossiere photos / Free Press New quartz countertops and water-blue backsplash tiling breathe new life into the old cupboards.

A kitchen is transformed with beautiful tiles and new countertops

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

A kitchen is transformed with beautiful tiles and new countertops

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Remote job sites are a challenge. Not only is distance a consideration when venturing out to gather information for a price quote, but the commute has to be factored into the project’s overall costs. As a result, many of my repeat remote clients indulge my idea to propose several projects at once, in an effort to maximize my time while putting all those kilometres on my work truck.

Although the jaunt from Winnipeg to Gimli is not that demanding, from where I live the travel time is close to two hours each way, making for long work days. So, the homeowners knew to throw everything at me once I had scheduled an initial visit. On the agenda was a main bathroom facelift as well as the addition of a frosted glass door to the office, which just had a doorless entryway from the hallway.

Nearing the end of our chat, the homeowner mentioned almost in passing how she’d love to also have a backsplash in the kitchen. Previously, the wall area above the back edge of the arborite countertops to the bottom of the upper cabinets had always been painted.

After assessing the kitchen, I would have felt remiss in not mentioning that the backsplash might not yield the desired result if they were intent on keeping the arborite counters. It wasn’t an attempt at an upsell — I truly felt that tiling the backsplash above the back edge of the old countertops was not the way to go. After a bit more discussion, I suggested that if they truly wanted a facelift, the cost-effective approach would be to retain the existing cabinetry, while upgrading the countertops to quartz, along with a new undermount sink and faucet. A newly tiled backsplash after those upgrades would be the icing on the cake. The homeowners quickly jumped on board and requested a quote for the kitchen facelift, along with the bathroom reno and the new glass door for the office.

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Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Renovation & Design

AAFC photo Samir Debnath with one of the lingonberry varieties he studies in the Research and Development Centre greenhouse in St. John’s, N.L.

Getting a boost from berries: Canadian scientists on the cutting edge of food crop research

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Getting a boost from berries: Canadian scientists on the cutting edge of food crop research

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

As we gather around the table this Thanksgiving, many of us will enjoy and share the local seasonal harvest. Whether the food we serve comes from our backyard garden, a farmer’s market or the grocery store, often a direct line can be traced to the work of research scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

AAFC scientists and researchers play a vital role in developing nutritious food crops, testing methods to protect soil health and finding ways to boost crop resilience in extreme weather. Canadian research and innovation in fruits and vegetables is at the forefront of strengthening food security and self-reliance. In addition to enhancing biodiversity, AAFC scientists and researchers are also contributing significantly to the development of nutrient-dense foods.

Let’s start with the research by Samir Debnath, who has been working with northern berry crops, including blueberry, lingonberry, cranberry, huckleberry, raspberry and strawberry. In the interest of space, I will focus on lingonberry.

Wild lingonberry grows in abundance in northern Manitoba. It is also native to British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada.

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Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

Renovation & Design

The area encompassing the damage is uninstalled to swap out bad boards for new.

After a deck was gouged during another project, the task was to make it look as good as new

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

After a deck was gouged during another project, the task was to make it look as good as new

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

During a recent window installation, the composite deck became slightly damaged when the window was positioned there temporarily during the delivery. Unbeknownst to the delivery crew (who had struggled to place the 300-pound window unit using a dolly), the window had been placed atop a few acorns, which scratched and gouged several areas of the deck as they walked the window back towards the exterior wall.

I hadn’t noticed it either, until the project was completed and the homeowners brought it to my attention.

With any reno project, every effort is made to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible, without affecting other areas of the home or property. In this case, the homeowners only noticed the damage to their top deck after thoroughly washing the area with a high-pressure spray nozzle. Although composite decks are easily scratched during normal use, these particular scrapes were quite noticeable — more like gouges than surface scratches. It quickly became evident that the heavy window had been set down on a few acorns (evident throughout the yard) and their shells had broken under the weight. When the window was moved, the abrasive edge of the shells created deep rifts in the deck — a very unfortunate scenario, since the homeowners had just recently had their deck re-sheathed in composite to replace old, treated lumber.

In talking to the homeowners, I learned the brand and colour of the composite boards which, to my delight, was easily sourced locally. I then scheduled a quick visit to assess the number of boards required to remedy the damaged area. Luckily, no board to be replaced was longer than eight feet, allowing me to use halved, 16-foot lengths for the fix.

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Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

Renovation & Design

Marc LaBossiere photos / Free Press The new window was ordered to fit within the existing stucco exterior.

Waiting for a window of opportunity

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

Waiting for a window of opportunity

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

Occasionally, the order of tasks within a project does not unfold as you might expect.

Based on a longer than desired wait time for a window delivery, the timeline of a recent bathroom project would have been delayed by several weeks had the window installation been slotted early on — which is typically the preferred approach. And so, a decision was made to delay the new window until the last, which created a few challenges.

Ideally, a bathroom reno unfolds in a strategic manner. First, the existing space is cleared of all the old amenities. Then, the shell is demolished, baring the wall studs to address any modifications to rough plumbing and electrical, which allows new surface sheathing and finishing to occur before introducing any new fixtures as part of the updated design. Windows and doors should be upgraded before the shell is finished, and certainly prior to repopulating the space. Although you could argue that a window installation could be treated as an isolated task — achievable at any time — the tiling in this particular bathroom became a point of contention.

Tiling was planned for throughout the bathroom — from floor to ceiling within the walk-in shower stall, and floor to shoulder height along the perimeter of the space. The pattern of the shoulder-height tile would be broken by the lower edge of the window opening. The removal of the existing casings revealed the true rough opening of the window, but what wasn’t known was how the new window would sit in the opening. This was because the old window had a sill, whereas the new window is equally framed along all four sides. And although the new window’s brickmould was ordered to meet the exterior dimensions of the existing stucco, it was tough to anticipate just how this window would sit within the opening after placement and levelling, and how it would affect the tiling inside.

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Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

Renovation & Design

Terra Nova Series photo The Fyre Wing Heuchera series is the first heuchera with deeply cut, lace-leaf foliage. This one is Fyre Wing Spinel.

Hot new plants for 2027

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Hot new plants for 2027

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

As you empty your containers and put your garden to bed for winter, take time to assess how well your plants performed. Which plant varieties bloomed consistently or provided long-lasting, vibrant colour? Is there an area of your garden or patio that would benefit next year from a splash of bold colour or texture?

Many new plants will be introduced in 2027. Gardeners can look forward to an eye-popping array of shapes, sizes and colours that will breathe new life into beds and containers.

The Fyre Wing Heuchera series from Terra Nova Nurseries is truly groundbreaking. There is nothing like it on the market in heucheras. It is the first and only heuchera, commonly known as coral bells, to have deeply cut, lace-leaf foliage. Fyre Wing debuts next year with varieties in seven different colours. Each variety is named after a gemstone — Amber, Heliodor, Hematite, Jadeite, Jet, Rhodonite and Spinel. This new series received Retailers’ Choice Awards this summer at both Cultivate and Farwest, the two most important green industry trade shows in North America.

So much buzz surrounds this new heuchera series that demand by retailers has been described as a frenzy. I reached out to Chuck Pavlich, director of new product development at Terra Nova, to inquire about Fyre Wing’s availability in Canada. He replied, “Oh yes, we indeed anticipate it to be in Canada in spring 2027. It will show up first in British Columbia, then work its way eastward.”

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Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

Renovation & Design

Classic Landscapes photo Designed by Classic Landscapes, this expansive backyard is perfect for relaxing and entertaining.

A gardener’s garden is never finished

Colleen Zacharias 8 minute read Preview

A gardener’s garden is never finished

Colleen Zacharias 8 minute read Saturday, Sep. 26, 2026

The clock is ticking for landscape projects to be completed before the ground freezes.

Typically, in Winnipeg, the first frost occurs in mid to late September. Could we have a milder autumn like last year which allowed landscaping crews to get trees, shrubs and perennials into the ground well into early November?

That’s what landscape designers and homeowners with outdoor projects are eagerly hoping for.

Jennifer Salamon’s plants went into the ground last year on the very last day of October. On top of that, she tended the potted shrubs, trees and perennials that she purchased in spring 2025 during Winnipeg’s smokiest summer on record. Nonetheless, the mild temperatures and warm soil conditions in late October proved optimal, with a nearly 100 per cent plant survival rate over the winter.

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Saturday, Sep. 26, 2026

Renovation & Design

Marc LaBossiere photos / Free Press The headboard and seatboard were painted white to match the window casings.

New bay offers a window on the garden

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

New bay offers a window on the garden

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 26, 2026

This spring, a homeowner asked if the window in their master bedroom could be replaced with a new bay window, and for good reason — the property features a huge, beautiful yard, and the existing window didn’t provide the best view.

After a quick inspection, I established that provided the window remained the same width, the existing rough opening could simply be made deeper to accommodate a bay window. Once the window was delivered several weeks later, the logistics of the installation loomed.

Unlike a typical window replacement — which entails removing the old window and frame and installing a similarly sized new window, this project would require a few extra steps. For starters, a portion of the bottom wall would have to be removed to accommodate the deeper window.

The required area of drywall below the old window was cut away inside the bedroom using the rough opening specifications for the bay window. The vapour barrier and insulation were also removed, revealing the empty stud cavities and reverse side of the exterior sheathing. The stucco along the exterior wall was cut away using a masonry blade on a circular saw, and a grinder for the tighter areas. Vertical strips of stucco were also removed to ensure the exterior of the new window would tuck in neatly.

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Saturday, Sep. 26, 2026

Renovation & Design

Marc LaBossiere photos / Free Press The new cabinet fronts brighten up the kitchen.

New kitchen in a day

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Preview

New kitchen in a day

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 19, 2026

I like to start and finish a job before the next one begins, but sometimes there are situations beyond my control.

So, although this kitchen project was finished in a single day, the preparations began long beforehand.

Having installed a drop-down ceiling box with half a dozen LEDs to improve lighting in their kitchen several years ago, the homeowners decided it was time to give the cabinets a sorely needed facelift. The countertops had already been upgraded to quartz and the tiled backsplash still met the clients’ esthetic expectations. The cabinet doors and drawer fronts, however, had begun to show signs of wear. The cabinet boxes, however, were in relatively good condition and so the decision was made to simply replace the doors and drawer fronts.

Front-face replacement is an ideal option when the layout of the cabinets still works. Such a kitchen update is less invasive and less expensive.

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Saturday, Sep. 19, 2026

Renovation & Design

Colleen Zacharias photos In Karl and Mary Loepp’s garden, beautiful vistas are around every curve.

Dramatic views and vintage treasures tell a unique story

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Dramatic views and vintage treasures tell a unique story

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Sep. 19, 2026

Every garden, large or small, has its own personal narrative to tell. Its design is a canvas for the owners to express themselves through visual elements like colour, shapes and composition.

Karl and Mary Loepp have a broad, living canvas with breathtaking garden vistas around every curve. Situated near the end of a winding road framed by majestic trees in historic St. Andrews, their stunning half-hectare property is a story of surprise and discovery.

Formerly a farmer’s field bereft of a single tree when the Loepps purchased the property and built their home in 2002, it was an apple orchard decades ago. When Karl first began working the soil and building the garden, he found coins dating back to 1908.

Both Karl and Mary spent their childhoods on family farms. They have a deep connection to nature and a passion for preserving history. Avid collectors of vintage farm equipment and hand tools, they are regulars at auctions, always searching for that one special piece to integrate into their garden where it becomes an intentional focal point.

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Saturday, Sep. 19, 2026

Renovation & Design

Bethany Booy photo Homegrown flowers for making natural dyes include black-eyed Susan, black hollyhock, coreopsis Black Knight scabiosa, marigold and sulphur cosmos.

Are you dyeing to try?

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Are you dyeing to try?

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

“I like to grow plants with purpose,” Bethany Booy said as we sat in her backyard in St. Vital on a warm day in August.

Booy is a fibre artist who gardens and forages locally grown plants for projects that she makes such as clothing items and baskets. She made a vest, for example, out of yarn she dyed using the indigo plant (Persicaria tinctoria) which she grows in her garden. She has also made her own natural dyes for yarn using onion skin, coreopsis (tick seed), and dock, a common perennial weed, as well as sumac and the bark and leaves from apple trees.

She grows a range of flowers such as Hopi Red Dye Amaranth, Rudbeckia black-eyed Susan, black hollyhock (Alcea rosea Nigra), Scabiosa Black Knight, marigolds and Cosmos sulphureus (sulphur cosmos) which she harvests and dries, and then uses for natural dyeing.

Booy also grows a dainty flower called Dyer’s chamomile. “It’s not used for making tea. It dyes a beautiful bright yellow,” she says.

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Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Renovation & Design

Marc LaBossiere photos / Free Press The old window met egress width requirements, but needed more depth, which meant enlarging the rough opening by cutting out the lower portion of concrete footing.

Window of opportunity

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

Window of opportunity

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

The prospect of tackling a window upgrade to meet egress specifications in the bedroom of a basement I had recently remodelled had been weighing heavily on my mind all summer.

Although I’m used to breaching concrete footings, the work is quite arduous — a daunting end to a basement project that would not be finished until the window arrived. Last week, the window was installed. Be advised, the process is not for the faint of heart.

Unlike introducing a completely new window opening within the concrete footings of a basement, egress rules can often be met by simply deepening the opening of the existing window, provided the width meets the required minimum as set out in local building codes. This avoids having to create a wider window opening, which can pose crucial implications for structural support with exterior walls. Fortunately, the existing window in this case was wide enough to allow a section of footing to be cut out.

Before breaching the concrete, a window well was installed at the egress window location (to the proper depth, tied into the weeping tiles), and the interior framing was done and the opening left unfinished until the window was installed.

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Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026

Renovation & Design

Photos by Colleen Zacharias photo Crabapple trees have been the No. 1-selling tree variety this year at Creekside Tree Farm & Nursery, owner Mikkel Grabinski says.

Welcoming Creekside Tree Farm & Nursery

Colleen Zacharias 8 minute read Preview

Welcoming Creekside Tree Farm & Nursery

Colleen Zacharias 8 minute read Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026

The local horticulture industry in Manitoba is a close-knit, supportive community, in which wholesale growers and retail garden centre owners know each other well. Many are long-standing, multi-generational family businesses.

If a local grower decides to expand greenhouse operations or a garden centre changes ownership, it’s big news that ripples throughout Manitoba’s entire horticulture industry, including the gardening community.

So, when a brand-new, independent wholesale nursery and garden retailer sets up business on 236 acres just 35 minutes north of Winnipeg, it merits considerable interest. A new startup in an industry with very few new players stands out.

Creekside Tree Farm & Nursery, a retail and wholesale nursery, is located at 165 Tom Prince Dr. in Petersfield, Man., just down the road from Chesley’s Resort and Campground. The owner, Mikkel Grabinski, is 28. He purchased the site for his nursery in 2019. The past few years, he has worked quietly around the clock to grow his operation by planting thousands of trees, build relationships with wholesale suppliers, and hire a workforce.

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Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026

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