Want to bloom your own bounty? Here are four things to do to get your garden ready

Not much can beat a ripe, juicy tomato picked fresh from the vine, or a crisp cucumber that packs a nutritious crunch. Homegrown veggies are delicious, nutritious and cost-effective.

Yet as Calgarians also know, there's a small window in which to grow their bounty.

That's why those with a green thumb like to plan out their seasonal gardens – from determining the garden's design to, of course, choosing the variety of crops – to make the most out of the planting and growing season.

If this is your first crack at planting and you're not sure how to get started, don't be intimidated, said Chelsie Anderson, owner and operator of Chelsie Squared Gardening.

Sneak peak at this year's Home + Garden Show

Nobody arguably knows more about how to succeed as a gardener in Calgary than Donna Balzer. The noted horticulturist and speaker is author of No Guff Vegetable Gardening, a regular CREB®Now columnist and trusted messiah for countless Calgarians trying to discover their green thumbs.

On Feb. 26 and 28, Balzer will take the stage at this year's Home + Garden Show to talk about how we can change our world, one cabbage at a time. CREB®Now recent sat down with Balzer to get a sneak peek.

CREB®Now: Why should I start thinking about my garden now when there's still snow on the ground?

Balzer: Gardening is two parts dreaming and three parts doing. The best ideas might be waiting for you right now at a talk, on Pinterest or in a gardening book. If you are serious about starting a garden, you will want to start looking and reading now because by the time the weather is perfect for doing it is too late.

Community cites lack of consultation

A bike lane proposed for northwest Calgary is meeting with some controversy from area residents who say the new lane could lead to increased traffic and parking woes.

While the new lane is intended to connect the city's growing cycle network from existing tracks along Northland Drive and Cambrian Drive/10th Street N.W., residents expressed concerns at a recent open house.

Toni Pilkey, president of the Triwood Community Association, said to those in attendance that the project has not undergone enough consultation with area residents and that the City is being "underhanded" in moving the project forward.

In October 2011, The City installed the bike lanes on 10th Street N.W., between Fifth Avenue N.W. and Cambrian Drive/Northmount Drive N.W., as part of a pilot project. The City monitored and evaluated the new roadway design for the next four seasons, and based on increased ridership, determined the bike lanes should be permanent.

La Vita Land to redevelop historic site

The Town of Cochrane announced Tuesday that it has sold its old town hall site to local developer La Vita Land Inc. for $2.75 million.

La Vita will redevelop the site to act as a "gateway and visual welcome to the heart of Cochrane, including the historic downtown area, from Highway 1A via Centre Avenue," said the Town in a release.

Council approved a framework for development, creating the Downtown Heritage District in 2015, that led to the call for proposals.

Behind-the-scene details of how communities in Calgary come to life

For casual observers, it might appear that new neighbourhoods just sprout from the ground overnight.

In fact, those first show homes only come after years of planning and negotiation.

"When people see the graders out there, people think that's the start of a community, but it starts long before," said Brookfield Residential senior manager of strategic initiatives Grace Lui.

In the case of Brookfield's up-and-coming Livingston development in north Calgary, for example, grading might have started this year, but land acquisition took place 15 years ago. The new community, which will be comprised of 10,000 homes on 514 hectares of land just north of Stoney Trail, will welcome its first show homes in 2017.

'Wholly inadequate' for some key segments

A new study is painting a frightening picture of the financial preparedness for those nearing retirement in Canada.

According to the Broadbent Institute, the value of retirement assets of those aged 55 to 64 without an employer pension – representing about half in this age cohort in Canada – is "wholly inadequate," with a median value of only $250 for those earning between $25,000 and $50,000 and $21,000 for those with incomes in the $50,000-$100,000 range.

"This new data on retirement savings and gaps in support makes one thing perfectly clear – we have a retirement income crisis on our hands that requires urgent government action now," said Rick Smith, executive director of the Broadbent Institute.

Company says Calgary too cost-prohibitive

Calgary city council voted Monday 14-1 in favour of new ride-sharing regulations that will require more rigorous licensing, background checks and inspections.

Yet U.S.-based Uber said the model is cost prohibitive and that the draft bylaw will run the company out of Calgary.

"It's a really unfortunate day for riders and drivers in Calgary," Ramit Kar, Uber's general manager for Alberta, told reporters. "For riders, there's no longer going to be an option that they've been asking for to get transported around the city."

In a statement on Twitter Monday night, the company added that, "it's unfortunate to see #yyccc vote for regulations that prevent the return of ridesharing to Calgary. "We'll continue to advocate for solutions that create jobs for drivers & affordable transportation options for the public. "

Homeowners to benefit from redevelopment, says company behind initiative

An ambitious multi-year plan to breathe new life into Deerfoot Mall in north Calgary stands to benefit nearby homeowners in a big way, says the company behind the massive redevelopment.

In early 2016, Vancouver-based Shape Properties announced it would be transforming the decades-old property at Deerfoot Trail and 64th Avenue N.E. from a traditional closed mall into a state-of-the-art open shopping centre dubbed Deerfoot City, complete with everything from a restaurant campus to style district.

"For local property owners, Deerfoot City is nothing but a good story," said Shape Properties executive vice-president Darren Kwiatkowski, whose company purchased the site from Ivanhoe Cambridge in 2011 for a reported $78 million.

Home + Garden Show returns to Stampede grounds Feb. 25-28

Change your world, one cabbage at a time: That's how Calgary gardening guru Donna Balzer wants to inspire folks at this year's Calgary Home + Garden Show, which runs Feb. 25 to 28.

"I'll help people understand why it's so important for us to take control of our own food," said Balzer, a CREB®Now regular columnist who will be among dozens of featured presenters at the four-day event, which is expected to attract more than 60,000 visitors this year.

"I want people to realize they can have an impact and help them discover how they can do it."

New Public Interest Law Clinic to challenge landlord-tenant law in Alberta

As a child, Sophie Purnell lived in Burundi before her family fled due to the country's increasing violence.

Now, as a third-year law student at the University of Calgary, she is hoping to make life better for others by working with a group of students to change landlord-tenant law in Alberta, one issue at a time.

The students — all second- and third-year law students — are taking a new course offered through the school's new Public Interest Law Clinic. Supervised by university professors, as well as local public interest lawyers, the students will take on cases from the clinic that fall under the public interest banner as part of their course load.

This term, students will be learning about residential tenancy law, human rights and potential constitutional challenges in the way tenants are treated.