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From sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½â€™s capital to the Pacific Rim, rebooted and new real estate projects define a changing Vancouver Island

Dear Helen: What might be taking out neat, semi-circular notches from the leaf edges of plants? D.S. This is probably the work of the leafcutter bee.

Dear Tony: Our strata council has just purchased and installed eight cameras in our main entry and parking entry to try and address a growing security problem in our community.

In a column just before Father’s Day I shared a few childhood memories from my father’s garden, where I recall helping to plant nasturtiums to trail down a retaining wall. In summer, I tended sweet peas growing on the wire walls of a chicken coop.

Map of sales-to-active-listings ratios shows where the housing hotspots have been this spring; many remain seller’s markets

Dear Helen: I recently saw a beautiful perennial with vividly variegated leaves. Yellow daisy type flowers were just starting to appear. The plant was around one metre high.

Dear Tony: What happens when bylaws are amended in a mixed-use strata corporation? The strata council, at our AGM, proposed a new bylaw that prohibits smoking or use of any types of combustible substances on common property or strata lots.

A meandering stream and three ponds rimmed in river stones, water iris, large-leaved gunnera and lilies — and glinting with flashes of golden koi — make a striking artistic statement at this lush Peninsula property.

An old gospel song came rollicking to mind as I gathered in some of the garden’s late June bounty: “Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Dear Helen: My lettuces dried up in the heat and dry conditions of June. Can lettuce not be grown successfully in hot weather? H.F. Fine lettuces can be grown through the summer, given certain parameters. First, consider your variety selection.