Renovation & Design – Winnipeg Free Press

First Editions Shrubs & Trees
New for 2026, early-to-bloom First Editions Spring Sizzle Panicle Hydrangea will look smashing in garden beds or patio containers.

New, improved hydrangeas perfect pick for space-saving pots

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025

Container gardening is more popular than ever.

Gardeners are looking to expand their opportunities for growing unique plants without taking up lots of space. More gardeners are discovering that growing perennials and shrubs in containers opens the door to a longer season of continuous colour, and the chance to grow a wider range of exciting new varieties.

One of the top plant choices for container gardens in 2026 will be hydrangea. “Hydrangeas continue to be one of the best-selling shrubs across North America,” says Ryan McEnaney, marketing and communications manager for Bailey Nurseries, a fifth-generation, family-owned wholesale nursery headquartered in St. Paul, Minn.

“The home gardener’s excitement for hydrangeas is palpable for those of us who work behind the scenes to bring new hydrangeas to market,” says McEnaney. “Growing hydrangeas in decorative pots provides the perfect opportunity for enhancing patios, porches and decks — spaces where maybe gardeners didn’t think they could grow a hydrangea.”

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Outdoor reno rejuvenates more than just an old porch

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Preview

Outdoor reno rejuvenates more than just an old porch

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025

As summer begins to slip away every year, lingering outdoor jobs become a race against time.

While keeping a close eye on impending forecasts, a day was chosen to replace the top deck boards along the lower tier of the front porch at my clients’ boat-access-only cottage location. Although the early morning seemed rather frigid, the day evolved into a gloriously calm and mild autumn afternoon — perfect outdoor building weather.

Much like the upper tier that had been addressed a few years prior and several other projects later, the process of removing the old two-by-six tops would be done systematically. As boards were removed, new two-by-six top-decking was installed.

Typically, I prefer to complete all demolition and prep before initiating installation. However, it was much easier here to demo and install as I went along, primarily because the old deck surface gave me easy access to lay out and secure the new boards.

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Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025

MARC LABOSSIERE / FREE PRESS
A short repose lakeside helped rejuvenate the soul at the job site.

Snug as a bug

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Snug as a bug

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025

One of the first rules for ensuring winter survival of plants, especially newly planted trees and perennials, is to water them deeply so they are well-hydrated prior to the first hard frost.

Recent rains have taken care of that task (and then some) for many gardeners in Winnipeg and surrounding areas.

The big question now is, what will winter bring? The 2026 edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts this winter will be warmer than normal across the southern Prairies with above-normal precipitation and below-normal snowfall.

Winter, though, can be harsh, regardless of predictions for mild temperatures. The impact of even brief but bitterly cold spells combined with frequent freeze-thaw cycles so characteristic of our Zone 3B climate, can wreak havoc on the root systems of plants, especially if there is below-average snow cover.

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Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025

Myra Froc photo
Gene Froc in his peony garden in the Qu’Appelle Valley. Tender plants will be covered with an insulated construction tarp for the winter.

Updating style can fit just about any budget

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Preview

Updating style can fit just about any budget

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025

Every once in a while, a project with rather foreign parameters crosses my path.

At a recent property, a minor kitchen facelift (part of a much larger renovation to ready a rental property) was heavily bound by budget constraints. Nonetheless, the look of the kitchen needed somewhat of an update without the high costs and hassles of a gut-and-remodel job.

Upon seeing this kitchen for the first time, it felt like walking into the past. The Arborite countertops, mismatched in colour, suggested an additional array of cabinets had been introduced at some point, without a countertop upgrade. Although new quartz counters would have clearly made a huge difference, it was not to be during this round of renovations. As such, it was necessary to address the main aesthetic issue which was indeed the backsplash.

Prior to addressing the kitchen, the old backsplash (if you can call it that) was tantamount to an Arborite continuation, vertically up the back wall below the upper cabinets. And because the main L-shaped countertop is an odd aqua-blue colour, this darker hue serving as a backsplash did not well serve the kitchen’s look. Fortunately, the vertical Arborite had been installed using an adhesive that, over time, had become brittle, allowing the sheets of flat Arborite to be peeled off with just a little encouragement.

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Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025

Marc LaBossiere / Free Press
A new peel-and-stick backsplash greatly improves a rental-property kitchen while adhering to a strict budget.

Never the same bathroom project twice

Marc LaBossiere / Free Press The bathroom was nearly gutted before the remodel could begin. 6 minute read Preview

Never the same bathroom project twice

Marc LaBossiere / Free Press The bathroom was nearly gutted before the remodel could begin. 6 minute read Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025

The old adage, “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” definitely does not apply to bathroom renovations.

Although the finished results from one project to the next may appear similar, the paths to get there often require a variety of dissimilar steps. A bathroom job completed a short while ago is a perfect example.

Generally, a bathroom remodel requires a few typical enhancements: a tub and shower stall facelift, a new sink vanity and mirror, tub and toilet replacements, new lighting fixtures and possibly new flooring. To achieve these outcomes in the simplest manner requires the removal of the “old” to make way for the “new.” The process becomes more complex when the existing sub-surfaces are no longer viable. For instance, after removing the existing tile along the tub and shower wall reveals a mouldy backer, the existing drywall is replaced with new aqua-board.

At a recent bathroom upgrade (part of a much larger project at an impending rental property), the existing space was in terrible shape. The ceiling and wall paint had begun to flake, discoloured from years of moisture. The tub, sink and toilet were badly stained from the hard water in the area. The electrical outlet was not GFCI. The old vanity was not centred during installation, and was offset from both the partially inset medicine cabinet and the vanity light fixture above it. The linoleum flooring was lifting along all seams and revealed a gap along the base of the tub. Every single water feed and drain revealed a minor leak of some sort, likely overlooked due to the bigger issue of water in the domicile’s basement, which was recently rectified by introducing a much needed sump pump to manage the elevation of the water table.

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Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025

The new light fixture was moved to align with the mirror and vanity.

New book has a cornucopia of ideas for entertaining

Colleen Zacharias 6 minute read Preview

New book has a cornucopia of ideas for entertaining

Colleen Zacharias 6 minute read Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025

Robyn Chubey’s creative ideas for decorating homes and gardens in every season, and her garden-to-table recipes to delight family and guests, are about to reach a new audience.

Chubey’s five-acre farm on the outskirts of Winnipeg — Prairie Glow Acres — is the showcase for her skills as a talented photographer, gardener, florist and decorator. Her social media followers (@life_of_glow on Instagram) are drawn by her innovative ideas and easy DIY projects for creating showstopping spaces, and she uses photography to tell engaging stories about life at home and in the garden.

Next March, she’ll launch her first book, Gather Together: Delightful Décor and Simple Recipes for Every Occasion.

“I was contacted by Quarto Publishing in spring 2024, and was asked if I had ever wanted to write a book,” says Chubey. “I’ve wanted to write a book for about 20 years. I said I would love to.”

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Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025

Robyn Chubey photos
Robyn Chubey uses pumpkins to create a welcoming entrance to her greenhouse.

A toilet fail was caught in the nick of time

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

A toilet fail was caught in the nick of time

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025

Just reliving this experience sends a cold chill down my spine.

If my wife hadn’t spotted a minor issue with the handle of our main-floor toilet, there’s a good chance we would’ve endured a disastrous water breach in our house. And had that happened, the water would have flowed unrestricted for hours, likely damaging a good portion of our main floor — completely destroying our recently finished basement.

A few nights ago, my wife discovered that the main-floor toilet was no longer flushing when you pressed the handle. The two-piece had worked for two decades without faltering — part of the bathroom renovation I completed shortly after we moved to this property. As a matter of fact, in December 2016, I wrote a Reno Boss column about this bathroom, dubbed the “Coca-Cola Bathroom,” since it is adorned from top to bottom with Coke paraphernalia collected throughout the years.

After a brief inspection of the toilet, I found that the inner plastic lever had a non-reparable crack and could no longer lift the flush mechanism. It would need to be replaced.

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Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025

Marc LaBossiere photos / Free Press
The “Coca-Cola Bathroom,” as first showcased in a December 2016 Reno Boss column.

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Homegrown solution

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Homegrown solution

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025

For the last two years, Dave Hanson, owner of Sage Garden Greenhouses, has been using Typha for mulching plants and improving soil quality. A sustainable product made from harvested cattail stalks, Typha holds significant potential for gardeners, says Hanson.

“The story behind Typha is incredible in so many ways,” says Hanson. “It is a Manitoba-made solution with ecosystem benefits to our lakes, but it’s not limited in its scope. As more gardeners discover Typha’s benefits as a mulch and soil amendment, it has the potential to impact the horticulture industry across Canada.”

Typha is an aquatic plant that functions as a bio accumulator. Typha plants naturally filter nutrient runoff before it makes its way downstream to freshwater lakes. Harvesting Typha plants at a critical time of its life stage has proven very effective at removing phosphorus, which is the key culprit behind excessive algae blooms in Lake Winnipeg.

Alec Massé, CEO and co-founder of Typha Co., is keen to spread the word about the many ways that Typha simplifies gardening.

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Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025

Dave Hanson photo
Top-dress houseplants with Typha for a finished look. It improves moisture retention, too.

Making windows disappear

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

Making windows disappear

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025

It’s often the least sexy tasks during remodelling that prove to be the most important, but they tend to be overshadowed by the grandeur of a completed project. We’re talking the rough plumbing of a bathroom upgrade, the electrical required for the introduction of ceiling pot lights or building the sub-structure that supports a multi-tiered deck.

At a recent jobsite, it was phase one of a feature wall introduction that fell into the least sexy category.

The completed feature wall will be the showpiece of the home — an 18-foot-wide wall with a vaulted ceiling, including a floor-to-ceiling stack in decorative stone encasing a wall-mount fireplace, flat-screen TV and a wood-stained mantle, with cabinetry on either side.

Typically, a project like this would start with design layout to determine the exact measurements required to frame the centre stack, as well as the dimensions and elevations for the cabinetry and shelving on each side of the stack.

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Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025

Marc LaBossiere photos / Free Press
Outside, the three former window openings are covered in Tyvek and sealed with Tuck tape to protect against the weather.

Why visitors are flocking to this Winnipeg yard

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Why visitors are flocking to this Winnipeg yard

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Sep. 27, 2025

When Elizabeth Ochnio decided to become a member of the East Kildonan Garden Club in January, she couldn’t have imagined the new connections she would make.

Nor could she have foreseen the attention that her small urban garden would attract from individuals and other garden clubs.

“I feel amazing,” says Ochnio. “I’ve always gardened for myself, but now people come nearly every second day, and I love showing my garden.”

July is a popular month for garden tours in Manitoba because flowering plants are in their prime. But in Ochnio’s backyard, the flower show starts in spring with an abundance of allium, builds in intensity throughout the summer and reaches a crescendo of beauty in September. If mild conditions continue, Ochnio’s remarkable garden will continue to bloom well into October.

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Saturday, Sep. 27, 2025

Colleen Zacharias photo
Elizabeth Ochnio with one of the many exotic Brugmansia Angel’s Trumpet plants she grows in her garden and overwinters indoors.

The proof will be in the roof

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

The proof will be in the roof

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 27, 2025

After upgrading the windows on the original portion of my house last fall, the prospect of incurring another major expense in the short term had me slightly concerned.

The shingles were replaced in 2005, which means they have entered the final third of their 30-year life expectancy, based on the IKO Cambridge product that was installed. I could only imagine what it would cost now to replace them, let alone in another 10 years.

To alleviate some of my worry, I began researching shingle maintenance and revitalization products.

To my delight, I stumbled across a company called Roof Revive on social media, which offers those things. I asked for an onsite visit to discuss the process, and that’s when I met Kevin Kelner, who had nothing but good things to say about the product.

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Saturday, Sep. 27, 2025

The gutters are cleared of any asphalt granules so that we can monitor the shingles’ condition over the years following the Gonano application process.

A fence postscript

Marc LaBossiere 3 minute read Preview

A fence postscript

Marc LaBossiere 3 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

During a recent backyard deck upgrade and partial fence replacement project, the homeowners forgot to include one other section of fence that needed to be replaced. Luckily it was a fairly short section and I was able to squeeze the job into my summer schedule.

To get the project done as efficiently as possible, I once again co-ordinated with a landscaping crew. I’ve learned from experience that the fence-building process is greatly expedited if the post holes are pre-drilled before my arrival. In this instance, however, I had to dismantle the section of old fence before the new post holes were dug. So, I arrived early the day the landscaping crew was scheduled to do their work, and luckily the old posts came out without issue.

Using a handheld post-hole digger and an eight-inch auger bit, the team systematically re-drilled the five post holes to a depth of roughly 42 inches. The outermost hole was a bit tricky, in that the old fence continued from that corner towards the backyard — a section that was not being replaced. So, we temporarily moved the leg of older fence away from the outermost hole. Once the holes were dug, that post was immediately set to level and secured using quarter down limestone gravel. Then we re-attached the old fence section to the new post.

Using a stringline, the elevation was marked along the top of the other new posts and the tops were cut off, except for the two set roughly 12 inches higher to create a threshold for the 36-inch-wide gate. Each post was set using limestone gravel. A 2 x 6 cap was created along the back section that pivots roughly 90-degrees toward the gate area, which also has a 2 x 6 cap at a higher elevation to ensure the gate remains rigid over time, during the swinging action of opening and closing. With the caps in place, the upper, middle and lower 2 x 4 horizontal supports were added between the posts, creating the sections upon which the 1 x 6 fence boards could be affixed. To mimic the previous fence section replacement, the 1 x 6 boards were mounted along the exterior of the fence frame, showcasing the main framework inside the fencing.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Marc LaBossiere / Free Press
The L-shaped fence section, including the gate, was completed in less than a day.

Reimagining the garden

Colleen Zacharias 5 minute read Preview

Reimagining the garden

Colleen Zacharias 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Next week, close to 100 horticultural professionals from botanical gardens and conservatories across Canada and the U.S. will be in Winnipeg for the American Public Gardens Association’s 2025 Horticulture, Greenhouse, & Facilities Symposium, which will be hosted by Assiniboine Park Conservancy at The Leaf.

From Sept. 23 to 25, participants will explore innovative approaches to designing and operating conservatories and greenhouses and exchange ideas about reimagining public garden spaces.

Gerald Dieleman, senior director of horticulture at Assiniboine Park Conservancy, says it’s an opportunity to showcase The Leaf, one of the most significant horticultural projects in North America in the past 20 years.

One of the key conversations, he says, will be about how to enhance the garden landscape and elevate the horticultural experience for visitors.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

JC Lemay photo
Plants are the main focus in this traditional landscape at Les Jardins de Métis in Grand-Métis, Que.

Phil Broomfield lectures on Thomas Hardy’s horticultural history

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Phil Broomfield lectures on Thomas Hardy’s horticultural history

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025

It’s September, and just as the kids are back in school to gain knowledge, garden clubs and horticultural societies are planning program evenings that provide learning opportunities for their members and the gardening public.

Prior to the pandemic, few garden clubs used video conferencing services such as Zoom. But lockdown changed everything. Virtual programming not only allowed learning opportunities and networking to continue during COVID, but has since opened doors to a greater audience for both garden clubs and public speakers like Phil Broomfield.

Broomfield is a United Kingdom-based garden historian and storyteller who gives lectures to women’s institute groups, garden clubs, horticultural societies and other organizations whose members are interested in exploring the evolution of gardens, horticulture and design.

Broomfield, 44, is also a horticulturalist and owner of The Garden Doctor, a garden maintenance service in Bournemouth on the south coast of England.

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Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025

Phil Broomfield photo
A traditional cottage garden frames Thomas Hardy’s birthplace cob and thatch cottage, built by his great-grandfather in 1800.

Finding a new (driveway) approach

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

Finding a new (driveway) approach

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025

I’ve been involved in reno projects that involve forming, pouring and finishing concrete, but those tasks have always been left to the certified professionals.

In the case of a recently proposed driveway upgrade project, the costs could have gone up substantially because of changes to city code involving a new driveway approach that ties into a right-of-way. Could we find a creative solution that would wrangle the overall project costs closer to the anticipated amount?

In replacing an entire driveway and approach, the overall square footage generally dictates the costs — the volume of concrete required can be calculated by multiplying the square footage by the average depth. When prepping the area, gravel is compacted within temporary wooden forms set along the perimeter of the driveway and rebar is strategically placed to reinforce the concrete once it’s poured. After the topside finishing is done, partial-depth lines are cut at set intervals to discourage haphazard surface cracks.

Typically, the calculated volume of concrete required also dictates the amount of rebar and the overall labour needed to complete the project. This past spring, a change in city code upended the initial quote that had been provided to the homeowner. Although the driveway is residential, it was explained to me that the city now requires all driveway approaches to meet commercial standards. In other words, the approach would require a much more invasive preparation, which of course means higher costs.

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Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025

Marc LaBossiere photos / Free Press
To avoid added costs due to recent changes in city code, the old driveway approach was retained and topped with asphalt, while the concrete driveway pad was completely replaced.

How a shady pollinator desert became a flower-filled haven

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

How a shady pollinator desert became a flower-filled haven

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Sep. 6, 2025

Drive through any older, established neighbourhood in Winnipeg and you will see fully grown evergreen trees that dominate small front yard landscapes, often completely blocking houses from view. Decades ago, when the trees were small, they probably seemed like a very good idea.

While the growth rate of an evergreen tree is slow initially, it picks up once the tree is established. When conditions are optimum (full sun, well-drained soil), an evergreen can reach an impressive height of 19 metres and a spread of 7.5 metres — an elegant feature on a spacious lot but not ideal for a small urban property.

When Dawn Hicks and her husband purchased their bungalow on a quiet street in south Winnipeg in 1985, they inherited three existing evergreen trees that the previous owner had planted in the front yard. Nearly 40 years later, the trees had grown into monsters, their extensive root systems sapping moisture and nutrients from nearby perennials and plunging the Hicks’ 16-metre-wide front yard into deep shade with their spreading branches.

Shaded by boulevard trees, the aging evergreens started to decline.

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Saturday, Sep. 6, 2025

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