This is what happens when a businesswoman trades a corporate career for a life in the country.
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1
Exterior
Surrounding the grounds of this 1873 Gothic-Germanic-style stone house are herb and flower gardens and a cool, grassy yard populated with good-natured Rhode Island red chickens. Its owner, Basia Halik, used to spend her days at high-powered sales meetings in downtown Toronto, but now she can be found cradling sheaves of wheat, lush hydrangeas, or country-fresh peonies. What was once meant to be a weekend house from her life in town is the place where she lives -- and works -- year round.
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2
Homeowner
Seasons come and go at this farm in Neustadt, Ontario, and with each cycle of changes in the weather and the landscape comes a new appreciation for all that the land has to offer. "It's not just about the garden," reflects Basia Halik. "There are pinecones in the fall and rose hips in the winter. Every season I am reminded of how little the land asks for and how much it gives back."
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3
Decorative Piece
It was in 1996 that this former Toronto-based corporate salesperson first laid eyes on the quaint stone house. "It was April and the views were like those of Switzerland," she recalls. Intending to use it as a weekend house, she bought it immediately, but weekends weren't enough, and less than a year later, she quit her job and left Toronto to live in the country full-time.
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4
Basket
"I had no plan whatsoever," she recalls. But as the adage goes, "Necessity is the mother of invention" and before long, Basia was teaching herself to garden. "I had absolutely no experience. When people would refer to thyme in the garden, I thought they meant the number of hours. But I loved it from the start."
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5
Bench
Soon, she was growing herbs to use in wonderfully aromatic salves, balms, and lotions, and arranging grains, flowers, and herbs into graceful sheaves and wreaths, which, among other lovely things, she now sells in her very own country shop that she calls the Harvest Room -- and where she conducts classes.
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6
Porch
Caesar, one of Basia's two dogs, enjoys the porchside view of the rural Ontario landscape. The antique-green wicker furniture is softened with cushions that Basia designed.
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7
Hydrangeas
A light-filled screened porch at the back of Basia's house doubles as a drying room. Here, hydrangeas from her garden are cut, hung, and dried. Later she forms them into fulsome arrangements and wreaths. "When making a Peegee wreath, one really great tip to keep in mind," Basia explains, "is to fashion the wreath when the flowers are still fresh. If they're dry or brittle, they'll fall apart during the making. And fresh flowers dry in place once you've applied the glue." Of her place she says, "My grandmother had a farm when I was a child, and I think a part of me has longed, always to return to that. This is my version of what I loved most about being there."
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8
Kitchen
The cooking area retains its original cabinetry, which she restored and updated with crown moldings and new hardware.
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9
Dining Area
Basia loves to entertain at a table built from pine boards by a local craftsman. The room features Basia's creations. Sheaves of green durum wheat are bound with soldering iron; the wreath combines eight grains, some of which Basia grows with the help of a local Mennonite order.
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10
Rooster
"Every morning I get up and open the chicken coop, which I fashioned from a former playhouse," says Basia. "The hens and my prize rooster, Walter, wander about the property." Basia's two dogs and her cat live in her stone house.
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11
Shop
Basia sells wreaths year-round at her shop, the Harvest Room, and also fills custom orders for seasonal holidays and weddings. "Brides are now thinking beyond flowers for arrangements," she says. Grains are also formed into towering sheaves, which lend warmth and a wonderful aroma to rooms. In Neustadt, Ontario, at 549 Mill street, the Harvest Room is open Friday through Sunday and by appointment; (519) 799-5566.
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