For Airdrie REALTORS® Matt and Michelle Carre, giving back is second nature.

The couple and their two children ditched Calgary's big-city life for the quiet, laid-back and connected vibe of Airdrie 13 years ago.

A few years later, in 2013, they started the Airdrie Angel Program, a grassroots initiative that assists struggling families and individuals in the community by offering needs-based, streamlined gift baskets filled with cash and gift cards totalling between $1,500 and $2,000.

If your garden party is usually over after the irises, peonies, plums and lilacs fade, add late-blooming flowers to really stretch your summer this season. Making way for late bloomers means the joy of summer continues past your escape to the lake and well into back-to-school season.

One of Airdrie's greatest strengths is its connectedness and small-town feel, and that strength is on display in the growing community of Bayview.

Trico Homes recently introduced five new home designs that are garnering interest from a broad spectrum of buyers. The Gems Series, an enclave collection of 80 homes in the established northeast community of Redstone, features innovative architecture and interiors that stand out from the pack.

The way light shines brightly through the carefully placed windows of every size and shape is Homes by Avi CEO Charron Ungar's favourite part of this year's Rotary Stampede Dream Home.

"There is no dark corner anywhere," said Ungar, whose company is in its 24th year of building this Stampede mainstay. "(It) is so fluid – everything has its place."

Drawing a line down Elbow Drive from north to south traces a rough timeline of Calgary community creation. This one road spans nearly 60 years of development – starting with some of Calgary's earliest, inner-city neighbourhoods and ending with several of the
1960s-era suburbs that now make up the city's middle ring. Here are the communities that  fall within the city's Elbow Drive corridor.

Widely regarded as a distinctive, one-of-a-kind community, Elbow Valley is known for its beautiful architecture and stunning, nature-filled backdrop.

As home of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth and world-class equestrian hub Spruce Meadows, it's no wonder many Calgary-area homebuyers have horses on the brain.

For horse lovers of all breeds – including pleasure riders, cowboys and competitive show jumpers – the region offers a premium selection of properties for those looking to enjoy the best of the horse world right in their own backyards.

I arrived home one day in November to find my irrigation system was spraying my snowy lawn.

One of Rocky View County's best-kept secrets, the picturesque hamlet of Langdon is starting to turn heads, as its wide-open spaces and country charm place it firmly in the spotlight.