The Globe and Mail

Some things that make Southern Ontario's countryside beautiful also make many a rural spot a trial to build a house on. I am thinking of the numerous rivers and the countless tiny streams that flow across the rolling landscape, steep water-sculpted slopes and the marshes nestled between tall shoulders of hill. One common and quite acceptable architectural response to the country's clefts and rills, of course, is to build above it all, straight out from the crest of the hill, creating a cantilevered overlook above the treetops with impressive views of what's all around and below. Another approach -- more difficult, but potentially just as rewarding to the artistic eye -- is to go deep into the green, dealing with the poor soils and high water tables of the bottomlands in order to achieve a pleasing sense of immersion in nature.