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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.

Dear Debbie: I am quite taken by the metallic look and would like to paint my walls with golden-brown metallic paint, but would it be too much? Frank When applied with care, metallic paint will produce a stunning result.

The first seed and garden catalogues will soon be arriving, and dreams for a new gardening season will begin. At the same time, it’s pleasant to look back at highlights of the past summer. Each year brings its own special treasures.

Dear Helen: I have a long perennial bed that needs a roster of new summer-blooming plants. I’d like flowers mainly in the pink to purple range, with perhaps some yellow. Please recommend some plants. H.E.

Dear Tony: Our strata recently changed management companies and in the changeover, we discovered we are owed more than $12,000 in fines from 15 strata lots.