Good points. Our main problem is we have fairly high pH, usually between 7.5 and 8.3 somewhere, and we have very high calcium in our prairie soils. This leads to problems with uptake of iron, so certain plants develop chlorosis very easily. Cold and drought are some other reasons, but mainly lots of land that had trees (aspen parkland) were cleared to make more farmland, and the rest was originally prairie to start with (I think the buffalo kept it that way on purpose!). For the longest time there was not much planted because most of the stuff that the settlers brought with them (from southeastern Canada and central Europe) died. Our Government set up Experimental Stations across the prairies in the early 1900's and started testing and hybridizing new species and releasing cultivars that could be grown here. They (and other plant breeders) found that plant material from other northern areas in the world would do well here, and imported many species from Northern China, Mandschuria, Siberia, Mongolia, Amur River, Altai Mountains, etc and also species that can stand wind and cold (plants from the top of the tree line in mountains for example). I guess I may may have "genus envy", not just tree envy. It seems with a genus of northern origin, like say Betula, you may be able to grow quite a few species from that genus. I might be able to grow (and have seed for)B.alleghaniensis, ermanii, humilis, lenta, nana, pendula var carelica, and pubescens var czerepanovii, to name a few. We have lots of White Paper, River and European birch here, but we also have the bronze birch borer, sort of the reason I want to try others that may be more resistant to it. We have lots of Pine that I've seen in the city, including Red, Jack, Bristlecone, Limber, Ponderosa, Shore, Lodgepole, Swiss stone, Mugo, Eastern White, Scots, etc and I'm trying out a few more, just to see. What I envy is the sheer amount of other genus you guys can grow that are just not hardy enough here, like Magnolias, Sycamores, Tulip trees, and so many other trees that are mentioned on this forum daily. We northern plantaholics tend to search the world (thank you internet) to find seeds of things to try, that might be tough enough for us. I'm not complaining though, it's very challenging and enjoyable process, and I know I'm hooked! Misssherry, Thanks for your suggestion for the Concolor Fir, I actually ordered 10 last fall, and hope they will do well. I'm also sourcing some Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) from the northern part of the Rocky Mountains, as they do really well here in the city, and can handle winds better than most other firs. We have a small arboretum here at the University of Saskatchewan (well labeled with straight rows) that was planted in the 60's that has many little known species of Larch, some Oaks (including Scarlett), Fraxinus, Tilia, Prunus (huge genus!), Spruce, Sorbus (5 or 6), Maples, and dozens and dozens of other hardy trees and shrubs that I've never even heard of. I've been collecting seed from there and have been planting it throughout the winter months while waiting for spring to come. This winter is ridiculously cold and is seeming to last forever.... I think I will do groupings of certain species, but not very formal ones, perhaps I could do several trees species (say Tilia) mixed with a few smaller shrubs (perhaps dogwoods and lilacs) so that it won't look so formal, but everything will still be fairly organized from a labeling standpoint. I should really try to visit some real arboretums and see how they've organized their collections to get a better idea of how to make it work so that it's still pleasing to the eye. Oh the possibilities!!!! Koren in Saskatoon

This is the first day-flying moth I think I have ever seen. And probably the cutest moth I have ever seen! I have to say I hate running into moths as I am coming in the front door at night and it's nice to know I don't have to worry about having these cuties in my face as I open the door in the dark. The night-fliers come to my porch light, of course. I ususally don't use the porch light unless it's dreadfully pitch black. Last night I came in after dark and there was some large moth (I could not identify due to the poor lighting) and it was nectaring on my sunflower! He was a night flier though, and not particularly striking. He was getting food and I imagine they were also taking advantage of my zinnias on the porch too. I keep a lot potted since we have a few neighbors that let their dogs roam. Of course they roam and dig in the flower beds. I save myself the hassle and pot A LOT of flowers. The other flowers I make sure are nearly impossible to dig - like Joe Pye Weed that grows in a hard clump that a pick axe couldn't get through. :)

Is the main question, "Is this super costly to build?" I think the answer is yes. Why? The roofline alone is reason enough: Curves are extremely expensive (though, yes, I see they're the main thing bringing in the personality). And angled rooms are more expensive than squared-off rooms, and no 5000+ square foot house will ever be in the "affordable" range. I have no idea of your budget, but I'm sure this house would be much more expensive than average. I would offer two overarching thoughts about the style: - The storybook house-look is taste-specific. While you wouldn't be alone in your love of this house, you also wouldn't have droves of people lining up to buy; you'd have to find the person who loves this storybook style AND ALSO can afford a 5000+ square foot house. I suspect many people who admire this style would envision it fitting into a small cottage rather than a huge house. Thus, it might be wise to save this house 'til you're building "your last house" -- that is, the house you intend to live in 'til the day you die. - I can't see this house fitting into a neighborhood with a ranch house on one side and a Colonial on the other side. It looks like a house that "needs to be" in a rural setting, somewhat set apart on its own. Otherwise, the storybook charm would be lost. As for the floorplan: - It does fulfill all your requirements. - The master bedroom will be dark. All the light will have to filter through a screen porch, then a sitting room. This is kind of odd: The house has windows everywhere, even in the pantry, but the master bedroom is sorely lacking in natural light. - By the same token, the great room -- no, lodge room -- won't be light-filled. It won't be dark like the master bedroom, but its light will be detered by the porch. What direction will the house face? That will be key to determining whether this is okay or not. - While we're talking about windows, I like the ample windows in the dining area . . . and now that I think about it, this darker-greatroom-adjacent-to-light-filled-dining-room could be a positive; it could be what differentiates your rooms one from the other. But, again, I think it all hinges on the direction and quality of your light. - You want the laundry room convenient to the master bedroom, and it is -- but reaching the closet still requires walking past the bed and through the bathroom. - I don't care for the curved island in the kitchen. It'll be expensive to build, and it'll limit access to the sink. This could be avoided easily enough: Just square off the pantry and the island -- you'll get more storage in both places. - The whole kitchen is large, but not particularly effective. People say they want lots of counterspace . . . but they really mean they want BETTER counterspace. I have 35' of linear counterspace, yet because it's all one long stretch and because it's poorly lighted and inefficiently laid out, I'm always crowded into the same little 4' spot on the penninsula. I see these same problems in this layout. With almost all the kitchen in that long wall counter, you'd never be close to . . . anything. Keep in mind, too, that a counterspace that long means you'll have to seam your stones. - Large secondary bedrooms, and it's nice that the library and studios could easily become bedrooms, if you needed it. Everyone likes flexibility. It'd be wise to build a closet into the studio room from the beginning; that'd make it a bedroom from the start, and no matter what your initial purpose for that room, no one dislikes more storage. - The plumbing is strung from one end of the house to the other. This significantly raises the price of one of your most expensive elements, and it increases the likelihood of leaks and problems later. - The home contains a great number of "extra rooms": Game room, bar, social room, studio, library, storm shelter. Do you actually need all these rooms and have a purpose for each?

I'm in British Columbia and condos are self-owned apartments while townhouses are self-owned rowhouses where you have your own front door and backdoor and no one living above or below you but you don't own your land. In both cases ownership is restricted to what is inside your 4 walls. Townhouses may either be a gated community or not. We have very few gated communities for single-family dwellings. We used to have Co-op form of ownership but it isn't built as a form of ownership anymore. Each development has a strata-council that controls what you can do to the outside of your unit and controls how the unit looks to the outside. Eg, curtains and blinds from the outside have to be neutral in colour, many will control what you can and can not put on your balcony. These sort of things are usually voted on by the owners. This type of real estate ownership is controlled by the Strata Property Act of 2000 and outlines the duties and responsibilities of the Strata Corporation (which owns all the public areas of the complex), the Strata Management Company and the Strata Council. This type of ownership is a very specialized field of real estate and is confusing to the rest of us. We owned and lived in a townhouse years ago and we would do it again but you do have to do your due diligence because not all complexes are run as well as others. Some councils are more interfering than others and have stricter by-laws. A friend of mine moved into a new townhouse complex that was sold as perfect for young families = close to schools, parks, shopping, good price point, 3 or 4 bedrooms, etc. A lot of young families, bought, moved in and funny thing, brought their children with them. A year later at the very first general meeting someone tried to bring a motion forward to ban children and make the complex adults only because it was too noisy with all the children. Everyone knew when they bought that it was sold as a family complex by the developer. But that is the power of strata councils, if it had passed they would have had to enforce it and all those young families would have had to sell and move. Fortunately the motion failed to pass. Where I live the real estate market is so outrageously expensive that townhouses are often the only thing that young families can afford to buy.