It’s easy to understand why we cringe, swear and swat at creepy crawly insects. But in reality, if they didn’t exist our eco-system would be an absolute disaster.

Clearly, there are pests we don’t want in our lawns and gardens such as mites and aphids, which do a great job at destroying plant life and spreading disease. But there are plenty of bugs that do good. They’re known as beneficial insects and they help your garden strike the perfect balance of creating a chemical-free garden that displays healthy looking and abundant plants.

Using beneficial insects to control other less garden friendly bugs is a method known as biological control. By using living organisms to control malicious insects you create a garden that is free of pesticides and other garden chemicals. Essentially, you are creating an organic garden.

We’ve all heard about the shortage of bees in recent years. These garden must-haves are essential for pollinating vegetables, fruit trees and other crops. To attract more bees and other pollinators such as butterflies plant a wide variety of flowering plants as well as pollen and nectar sources. Bees are especially attracted to blue, purple, white, yellow and violet. Leave a section of your garden free from mulch so as to attract ground bees. A dead tree or rotting log will supply prime nesting for bees. Provide them with a shallow water source such as a bird bath or saucer filled with water.

Beetles are another beneficial insect you should welcome on your property. These nocturnal bugs help to keep night-time pests at bay. They prey on about 50 types of pests such as snails and slugs. Attract beetles to your garden by using mulch and planting perennials. They nest and lay their eggs in decaying plant matter and will overwinter there as well.

Ladybugs are another garden friendly bug you want to have. They enjoy munching on a number of pests such as aphids, white flies, mites and mealy bugs. Their larvae are equally important in your garden as they are as ravenous, if not more so, than their parents. One thing to keep in mind is that the ladybug larva looks remarkably different from its parents. In fact, the larva looks like a tiny red and black alligator and not at all like its parents, which are often considered the darlings of the bug world.

Don’t let the large size and scary shape of a praying mantis scare you. They are harmless to humans. Not so much to other bugs, though. In fact, a praying mantis will eat just about any insect in the garden. They’ve been known to catch small frogs and birds as well.

Sources: www.organiclesson.com, www.thespruce.com, www.care2.com,

There are a million considerations to mull over before deciding to buy a condo. One you should not neglect centres on your furry and feathered friends and how warmly they’ll be welcomed, if at all, in your new digs.

Not all condominium corporations love domesticated animals equally. So if bringing your four-legged friend or pet turtle with you is a priority that is definitely something you need to discuss with your realtor, who should be able to advise you. If they can’t or won’t, it’s time to get a new agent.

At Freeman Real Estate, where we encourage staff to bring their pets to work, we’ve even dedicated part of our website to finding the perfect pet-friendly Toronto Condo. We know the public loves their pets and will go to great lengths to accommodate them. In fact, a CBC.ca report from 2017 cited a city estimate that there are between four to eight pets living on every high-rise floor in the city.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The thing to know is that every condo building varies in its rules about pets with some banning them altogether. In order to get the low-down on a particular building you need something called a condo status certificate which outlines the dos and don’ts of your condo. Your real-estate agent may already have copies of the certificates but if not you can get them for a small fee.

So what kind of regulations do condo boards typically have? They vary and cover a wide assortment of items. More common restrictions include rules about leashing pets and ensuring that they are registered and guidelines as to how many pets you can have in your unit and what size and weight your pets can be. There are even some that govern the type of pet so goats or chickens are forbidden because they would be deemed to be livestock.

If you’re something of a rebel and you think the condo board members will fall in love with your 90-kilo English Mastiff and disregard their weight restrictions, think again. Unless you can prove that your pet is with you for medical reasons (as recognized by the Human Rights Code), you may be in for a bitter and pricey fight. In 2015, The Toronto Star reported on a case that ended when the dog was ordered to be removed from the condo. The judge awarded $47,000 in court costs to the condo corporation “which can be collected by way of a lien” against the condo unit in question. The legal costs incurred by the condo dwellers could have easily doubled their bill, the story reported. They argued that their dog, Peaches, should be permitted despite weighing 15 pounds more than what the bylaws allowed.

It just goes to show you that it’s important to be mindful of the rules. Besides there are plenty of GTA condos that are very pet friendly, offering a host of amenities such as nearby parks, pet-washing stations and pet spas.

Sources: www.torontostar.ca, www.zoocasa.com, www.cbc.ca

The list of plants, shrubs and vines that flower in May is as long as a Canadian winter. But with so many to choose from it’s easy to become overwhelmed and perhaps even give up on the notion of having an attractive outdoor garden.

Don’t. Nothing is as inviting as a well-tended lawn and garden. An abundance of colour, eye-catching plant shapes, sizes and textures and well-placed lawn and garden ornaments will keep folks turning their heads. And if you plan to sell your home during one of the hottest buying months of the year, that’s even more reason to pick up your rake and head outside.

Gardening experts will tell say you are better to select plants that are native to Ontario because they are more likely to thrive, pick up fewer diseases and need less water. Indigenous varieties are much easier to maintain and they contribute to biodiversity.

That said, nothing says springtime like those gorgeous blossoms found in April and May on tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, snowdrops and daffodils. Though these flowers may not be native to Ontario, they grow very well here and provide the perfect pop of colour after a long, cold and bleak winter season.

Perennial flowers that you can depend on year after year include early-blooming peony. These easy-to-grow and disease-resistant plants are showy and beautiful in colour and they can last forever. You will likely need to stake your peonies, but the effort will be worth it.

Bleeding Hearts lend an old-fashioned flavour to your garden what with their arching stems and dangling heart-shaped blooms. These plants work well in shady areas.

Columbine come in a variety of colours but are known for their showy, intricate flowers. These flowers are ideal as they are a native species of Canada.

Wood Anemone is part of the Buttercup family and since they grow low, they make a nice ground covering. This native variety sports a five-petal blossom of white flowers in early spring and is usually found in forests.

Bloodroot is showy eight-to-twelve petal white flowers that bloom from April to May. These photogenic flowers with a bright yellow centre are named as such because the roots contain juice that is a blood-red colour.

When it comes to shrubs that produce pretty flowers in May virtually nothing beats the forsythia. With its bright and welcoming yellow blossoms, these shrubs looks fabulous whether neatly trimmed for size or left to grow wild. Flowering Dogwood, Lilacs, Bridlewreath Spirea, Heath, Azalea and Weigela each offer showy blossoms that will draw the eye.

For a vertical aspect to your garden consider growing flowering vines on fences, light posts, walls or on an arbour. Trumpet vine, which is named for the shape of its red-orange flowers, will attract hummingbirds to your garden. Wisteria produces beautiful purplish-blue-to-white flowers that are quite fragrant, although these plants can take years to develop. Clematis also turns out beautiful showy flowers in a wide variety of colours.

But if you are simply looking for a way to cover an unattractive fence, consider these non-flowering vines, Virginia Creeper and Boston Ivy. They grow quickly and their foliage is quite attractive, especially in the fall.