Freeman Real Estate hosted a very successful moth night in Vermont Square Park on July 31 2014. This was the fourth year sponsoring this event. We thank world famous moth scholar and expert David Beadle for making lots of big and small kids happy!

When most other girls were oohing and aahing over teen heartthrobs or the latest runway fashions Halina Bucchino was drooling over the pages of Architectural Digest and House & Home.

Something about those interior designs, those artful transformations and inexpensive yet impressive D-I-Y projects captivated Bucchino to the point that she became transfixed, her mind examining lines and shapes, devouring colours and patterns. Clearly, she was an anomaly among her teenage friends.

Some 20 years later and those friends have caught up to her. Bucchino’s interest in design never wavered and today she earns a living in a profession in which design has become increasingly important. All those hours flipping the glossy pages of home design publications served her well.

“When most girls were reading Teen Vogue I was reading interior design magazines,” says the recently hired Freeman realtor who is also the mother of twin girls. “I always say to my husband that in my next life I would like to be a furniture designer.”

But in this life, Bucchino plans to hone her real estate practice to encompass Riverdale, the neighbourhood in which she resides with her 12-year-old daughters and husband, and her main focus is investment real estate.

Bucchino immigrated to Canada from Poland with her family when she was six. The family lived in Hamilton and then Mississauga. A former fitness freak, Bucchino obtained an honour’s degree in physical education and went on to work as a personal trainer and to teach various fitness classes.

Family life is important to Bucchino, who loves the flexibility she gets from working in real estate. Her daughters, Bianca and Melody, factor most prominently.

“I love spending time with them,” she says. “They keep me young and remind me not to take simple things for granted.”

Prior to getting her real estate license two years ago, Bucchino assisted her husband with the day-to-day operations of a real estate investment firm. As a result, property management, leasing, purchasing and selling are matters she knows well. In fact, it’s thanks to her time there that Bucchino has built a solid network of investors and consultants, who send referrals her way.

Before joining Freeman, Bucchino worked with a boutique brokerage in Vaughan. But the pull to work downtown was strong and that’s when she found Freeman. Bucchino knew Freeman was the firm for her based an office environment that she describes as calm, comfortable and laid back.

“I love their branding,” she says. “The fact that they are a family-run business and that there are no egos in the office – I love that. I like their simplicity and that they’re not over-the-top. I think people recognize
the quality that Freeman brings to sellers and buyers.”

Given the extreme weather we’ve been having – from floods and ice storms to reports of tornadoes – it’s difficult to know what September has in store as I write this in early August.

Will the weather gods smile down and give us a month filled with balmy Indian-summer days?

Or will September feel winter’s looming grip just around the corner? Either way, September is the perfect time to start getting your outdoors ready for the big chill.

Begin by putting together an attractive autumn planter using the best of the fall season –ornamental cabbages and kales, mums, cora bells, verbena and sedum. Hopefully this may inspire you to continue with garden jobs that are less immediately rewarding.

Collect seeds for next spring and harvest herbs for drying and other ripened vegetables.

If your hostas are the size of Mini Coopers now is the time to divide and conquer. Overgrown perennials can flower poorly and become floppy. Fall is the best time to divide perennials and share them with neighbours or to plant elsewhere. Water the plant well a day or two before digging it up. Try to divide on a cloudy day as hot sun will stress plants.

Now is the time to plant spring and summer flowering perennials as well as new trees and shrubs allowing six to eight weeks for roots to form before winter’s frost sets in. Be sure to add compost or manure to your garden beds.

While this is easy to neglect, watering trees and shrubs until the ground freezes is an important task as it helps them better weather the ravages of winter.

Don’t let fall leaves go to waste. Shred collected leaves and bag them to be used as winter mulch.

Pull weeds before they go to seed to reduce the amount of weeds your lawn and garden will have next year.

Don’t forget to turn off your outside water taps. Store hoses and sprinklers. Clean and store or cover bird feeders, gardening tools, water features. Empty and clean clay containers. Bring them indoors to protect them from cracking.

If you’re a big fan of the ‘Stinking Rose’ otherwise known as garlic then you will want to find a sunny spot to plants your cloves. Plant cloves eight centimetres deep and 15 centimetres apart. Expect to harvest the following July.

Root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips can be harvested all winter. Remove top foliage from the plants and cover them with a 15-centimetre-thick mulch of leaves or straw. Throw an old piece of carpeting on top and let the snow fall as it may. Lift the coverings to dig out veggies as needed.

Feed your lawn with organic lawn fertilizer in the fall. Typically, these fertilizers while more expensive up front are cost effective in the long run as they require fewer applications in addition to decreasing the need for pest controls and promoting better growing conditions. Or you can try making some with your very own compost. Fill a bucket or container one-quarter full with compost and top up with water. Leave for three days and then strain the mixture. Dilute the compost tea with water before spraying your lawn. Also, remember to aerate your lawn as well.

While none of these suggestions will ward off winter’s arrival, know that your lawn and gardens will be better off for making the effort come spring.

The National Association of Green Agents and Brokers (NAGAB) provide a Greenbroker and Greenagent certification program to Realtors across Canada. To get more information or to sign up for a course, visit www.nagab.org. Elden Freeman M.E.S., AGB, broker is the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization. 1-877-524-9494 Email elden@nagab.org.