Dsnine.. okay.. well.. I just have to get you caught up on something I am sure about! You are going to experience a lot more bugs than Alaska! I am familiar with upstate NY, near Buffalo, Rochester and Finger lakes. We almost moved to Ithaca but the taxes ;). The summers are really lovely in that zone more than VA! The summer; the heat, bugs, humidity, but I still have lots to do with kids. Plus still need to keep gardening for me (food, harvest, sowing again for more susscesions like lettuce, sometimes carrots (a bit later) and radishes and beets.. but eventually, life suddenly tells me, to go inside and drink some ice tea and homeschool the kids! Take them to the pool, etc. It seems like my choice not to do summer is also based on native annuals that are super happy! And some others like daisies. I guess I was trying to say; I don't try for summer but I keep up with what is going on; watering. I don't like to weed unless a weed is going to flower because the earth gets like a sun burn (top soil death)! And I relax in the heat a whole bunch to protect the roots of the plants I want to stay happy near by. I should have had all my weeding done but, nothing is perfect! Summer to me is a time to get busy and relax too! Lol! It is lovely weather for all kinds of fun in the evening here at least and some days; telescope out, campfires etc. Spring and fall for people that eventually grow green thumbs are a big deal and people that grow cheaper thumbs- FALL! Not only cheaper but surpirsingly well established plants had the luck of fall planting or seed sowing. Many native bulb like plants (perrienals) that will be gorgeous and give you so much interest and spread well, are almost unknown to me without fall seed sowing. Many annual seeds I tried sowing in the spring for our fenced garden showed up the following year due to, my layman's guess, a freeze! There are some nice bushes and bulbs (you will see Lillies in Ohio I bet in summer) that love summer. That is absolutely worth a try! You have figured me out by now that I can't stay away from the plants lol. We were suppose to not garden this year for house! But I was trying to voice that I threw seeds; tickseed, echineace and echineace and daisy keep on each year like almost wild flower annuals here. This is how I define my "no summer gardening plan" (starting self sowers (annuals, each fall, or when a free seed packet comes, even in winter under the snow sometimes.) I want to water the fruit trees and veggies on a timer one day! But we have to share the well for now and too tricky. The summer flowers and ornamentals need to be totally independent plants and they absolutely are! Drought tolerant or just not me tolerant. Watering in the spring and fall is so much more enjoyable with breaks with the rain and cool weather. Summer watering is so hot too, and basically, we feel irresponsible if we do more than for our food sake; very minimal for other plants. Small trees are okay to help start. Winter gardening is a new book topic (and fall too, but that book points mostly to color and sometimes to fall blooms, but chances are if it is foliage, the plant will be thriving in the spring too.) I love talking winter gardening! This is still new to me but what it says to me is mostly about form, evergreen and surprising blooms! The winter garden can be so everlasting! Elegant and besides sourcing the plants, easy! It is lovely to think of still forms placed carefully that add enough grace year round that the garden feels like a familiar room. Much like a favorite tree and a bench or swing. I don't see winter gardens that often and I know I will be one of the first in my circle. Many people have them if you thought about it a tiny bit.. like all the landscaping basic installments that people line their homes with. That is almost exactly it. You just take those plants and make them in front of your and on a path that you focus your attention on instead of something hugging your house or porch, like walking down a brick, or mulch, pea gravel path to a bench and a winter garden delighting around you. That is what it felt like to me anyway! You need to go to more historic gardens than most to find some. Here is the book! It is like a catalog and very few pages are the same but chapters do hold the similar ideas together. https://www.amazon.com/Cultivating-Garden-Style-Practical-Personality/dp/1604694777 Praire nursery is great eye candy too! (And a teaching and design catalog if you read it right.) It can help you sow wildflowers seeds on your septic leach field. We didn't buy a mix from them of it, but have gotten seeds from them before. (It can be pricey but easy and a good source for seeds; they always tell you the mix). They have your style for sure! And btw, you might like some purple grass! A sedge is like a grass (but not) and a wonderful mate to iris and others if you have water spots or gutter runs.

Many years ago they passed ordinances to retain original build in historic CO mining towns. Apparently this got pushed a bit with approval of additions and interior changes. These towns are so expensive to live in or stay that those who work there have specific buses allocated for transportation from outside of the area. Every inch of land in these towns and a home's sq ft are gold. Think revenue in taxes too. Those who go there would most likely not be up to a small victorian scheme, they want what we are seeing in the transformation. 'Tis their lifestyle and they are willing to pay for it. Not that I like what they have done. But the means to the end is money for the city, bringing in people, tourists, ect. The other end of the spectrum is what has been done to some of the mining towns by changing them into gambler's paradise. Original exterior, but tacky gambling mess. Income for the towns again. Guess they at least have the ability to retain them.

Location: Owings Mills, MD List Date: July 8, 2007 Original List Price: $269,000 1 Price Drop: $262,000 after 38 DOM & 15 showings without offers. Feedback was positive but no takers. Final Sale Price: $259,000 with 28th showing. Days on Market: Officially 72, however was really around 65 days. Close: Oct 19 Other: Received one offer the week before from a young couple who needed closing help. We countered but they declined due to pressure from their parents to wait until Spring. Our net would have been $2000 less so I am thankful that it didn't work out. DH and I went into this anticipating $260,000 as our net. Interviewed 6 agents with listing recommendations b/t $244,000 and $272,000. Loved the agent we chose - has been in the business for a long time so she has seen the cycles. OH every other week and tons of pics on the web - made a huge difference! Buyers were very reasonable - we countered their offer & they accepteds; never saw the HI as they didn't request any repairs. Mood: Elated and relieved as our market took a major dive right after we went under contract. Houses are now listing about $10-20,000 less. Good luck to sellers & buyers!

Late to the party to reply to questions ... sorry about that. Anyway ... The Old City Cemetery is owned by the City of Lynchburg. They have a wonderful cooperative relationship with the Southern Memorial Association, which has made the cemetery into the destination for tourists and for local folks that it has become. Support buildings were moved to the cemetery, or built from scratch, including a depot, the Pest House, a visitor's center, a beautiful chapel, and the new Comfort House. Rose garden, including a separate area for the Carl Cato collection, is but one of the things that I love about Lynchburg's wonderful cemetery. (Jane Baber White wrote a fantastic book about her work restoring the cemetery's roses, planning and planting the new gardens, and developing the rest of the grounds. It's fascinating!) As far as roses for sale ... The largest variety this spring for browsing and buying in person may be at Lynchburg. The sale at Tufton is much smaller, and it includes only a few of the rarest varieties from their garden. At the HRF conference in May, we will have roses available for sale at Saturday's banquet. (I don't have the list of those yet. I can let you know what we have as soon as I know.) Connie