After last week's column about cool houses and gardens in the North End, people were driving around with maps and copies of the Spec trying to spot the houses.

Everyone is looking for inspiration -- and it's everywhere, from the little house and garden in the shadow of the Westinghouse plant, to the grand estate in the country.

When I travel I admire the monuments, churches and museums, but as quickly as possible I make tracks for the neighbourhoods. Are they growing roses and tomatoes at the front door? Any new ideas for potscaping? In a European garden, you can hear the conversation from the wide-open kitchen windows and smell what's cooking.

You come home and try some inspiring ideas. Near City Hall in Buffalo is a neighbourhood of houses with beautiful garage doors. Not beige, not black, not white, but sea blue, Huckleberry Finn green and soothing sage.

What a revelation that bold colours can work in cool climates. The houses also have beautiful gardens, thick with ground covers and ferns, lilies bursting with vitality and a canopy of deciduous trees. It was a completely accidental discovery.

We're timid with garagescaping. Bold colours are more often found in furniture such as Muskoka chairs in Matisse colours decorating the front porch.

It's always safe to be tasteful, but I like a dash of daring. Ceramic birds, gnomes, and gothic birdhouses make you slow down on your stroll and take inventory.

Quirky discoveries used to make judging the Trillium Awards so much fun. Gardens in the lower city were best. I'm not sure what it's like now, but the award-winning gardens for 2007 were a little too stiff-upper-lip.

This is the year of the colourful jungle. Weather conditions are pushing growth to rain forest proportions. I had reservations about the elephant ears I bought in the spring because they love moisture. But they look fabulous! They twitch in the wind next to another impulsive purchase, a bougainvillaea that's in gangbuster mode with flame pink flowers everywhere.

Minimalism has had a stranglehold on garden design for a few years. Now I sense a change -- more colour, more plants, more art and more individualism.

Another trend is edibles. You can supply a restaurant from a rooftop garden or feed a family from a back-yard plot. Organic gardens are sprouting up on vacant city lots and front yards on Barton Street.

Home is where the loam is.

What's the message here? Have fun, embrace colour and discover your inner garage.

Kathy Renwald is producer and host of Gardener's Journal. kathyrenwald.com.