VIRGINIA BEACH
Hampton Roads gardeners have their work cut out for them these days as they prepare the soil for spring planting.
Garden intruders such as grasses and weeds had a heyday this winter as they thrived in unwanted places in the unseasonably warm temperatures.

NORFOLK 
In just two hours, participants in a wreath workshop at The Fred Heutte Center in Norfolk turned professional wreath makers and created decorations befitting the most elegant of front doors.
Novices all, they stapled layers and layers of various greens round and round a circular plywood base, then topped their wreaths with berries, a cheerful bow and colorful faux fruit.

CHESAPEAKE Pool envy. Sigh. But to own both a pool and a pool house? Heavenly. No more kids in wet swimsuits squishing around your kitchen, digging through the freezer for Popsicles, leaving puddles in your bathroom and damping up the rug on their way back out.

VIRGINIA BEACH

What’s brown on the outside, green on the inside and silver all over?

And, no, this isn’t a joke.

The answer: the Hill-Burdette family’s new Virginia Beach home, built 10 weeks ago by thousands of local volunteers and organized by “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and Chesapeake-based builder Trademark Construction Inc.