Last Post 27 days 1 hour ago
25 April 2013 22:29:14
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my neighbour told me that an auctioneer had valued his house at a certain figure for property tax purposes and that mine would be the same as our houses are the same size
i questioned thsi because i have spent a long time on my garden, planting trees, shrubs, roses and bulbs etc. i have the drive tarmaced, house insulated with the beads, new condenser boiler etc none of which he has
he said that the property tax is relevant only to the actual house not the garden etc
he also said that a garden is only a nice frame to a house but is not included in the sale price of a house.
i again questioned this and said that any house that is being advertised for sale the sales pitch includes phrases like 'mature garden' 'well maintained' etc and that of course the garden adds value to the property
of course i dont want to pay extra in property tax but i would feel hard done by if both our houses were up for sale and the same price tag was put on both when there is a huge difference in the finish to each house.
04 March 2013 00:07:31
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do you leave plant litter on the ground or do you rake it up?
i am between 2 minds-if i leave it its adding nutrients, if i rake it up nice and tidy i leave it looking it nice and reduce the spread of disease......
23 September 2012 22:51:52
rudbeckia
this is one of the last flowering shrubs in the garden. its full of sun-like discs of deep yellow flowers....staving of the winter
23 September 2012 22:46:18
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this poor little divil was well-hidden under a mass of dying peony leaves
23 September 2012 22:42:03
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was out weeding when i happened across some little spring leaves showing above soil level. dont ever remember this happening so early
02 September 2012 13:51:15
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beautiful autumn fruits. red with orange insides. leaves will be lovely in a couple of weeks too. its about 5 foot tall.
22 August 2012 21:59:01
screen name used to be steno
since i've been on this site i've gone by steno, a name the students gave me (my surname is Stenson). some of my friends who didnt know my nickname were finding it hard to find me on the site as they were always looking under A
i'm now changing it to Alan S
so the journals etc will still be mine-just under a different name
22 August 2012 21:26:06
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i planted these poppies last summer. they were growing in the nursery that i go to. they were not for sale. the nurseryman dug some up and gave them to me. they seemed to die when i planted them but lo and behold they grew this year. they look like roses from a distance. and as look would have it i planted them in the same area as the fragrant cloud rose which is more or less the same colour as this. nice
22 August 2012 20:38:02
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just showing a few of the colours in the garden at the moment. autumn is coming and the colours are deep and rich. phlox, rudbeckia, astrantia....they're probably regarded as old-style now but they are beautiful
22 August 2012 20:29:18
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made these hanging baskets only a month ago. they've filled out nicely. i only filled the top of the basket not the sides with plants. i used a deep velvety purple and a dark red.
they're blending in together well.
22 August 2012 20:20:43
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roses have become my flower of choice this year. i planted 4 new beds. 2 of them were "Trumpeter" which included standards. another was a "Korresia" standard surrounded by "Amber Queen". and the 4th was a mixed bed of "Margaret Merrill", hostas, heuchera and a few trees
i am really happy with them and am hoping that the roses will settle in well and perform well over the coming years.
20 August 2012 23:32:36
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very late this year but here we are doing our hanging baskets about a month ago. they are after filling out nicely now...photo to post later
20 August 2012 23:26:37
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in july 2011 i dug up 6 rose bushes from a derelict factory in the area and replanted them in my own garden...i pruned them right back as they were about 4ft tall and in straggly state. the roses were pinkish orange and had the most beautiful scent.
after transplanting them i watered well for a few weeks and was delighted when new growth appeared.
this summer the bushes seem so much happier than last year. the blooms are huge and as scented as any rose i've ever come across. i think it is Fragrant Cloud.
11 July 2012 18:34:38
i was online looking to see where i could buy roses. johnstown garden centre says they have roses from €9 but when i checked it out there was NOT one rose anywhere near this price. in fact every rose they have is AT LEAST twice this amount at €20.
http://www.johnstowngardencentre.ie/
this is absolutely disgraceful. i contacted them and am waiting a reply from them.
26 May 2012 00:17:52
frost hit rodgersia
nearly all my rodgersia were badly hit by frost about 2 weeks ago. but i think they are recovering fairly well.
on a different note i was uploading a few photos there now and the whole process has changed from the last time i did it a few weeks ago. i dont like the the way you can only upload one at a time. and whats the save gallery about? are they not saved when you upload them ?