Euphorbias are winners for you and the bees

This garden favourite will grow pretty much anywhere, and is as joyous as it sounds

Rugged, drought tolerant and immune to pretty much every pest and disease out there, euphorbias have to be one of the most resilient and easy-to-grow of all flowering plants. If you have a sunny, well-drained spot on your plot, in exchange for a mere 10 minutes work a year you’ll get a dramatic statement, not to mention scented flowers that bees go crazy about. Here are five great “must have” euphorbias for any site or situation.

The lush leaves of Euphorbia mellifera are a sort of visual sorbet in the garden, with domed canopies of vibrant emerald green, each with a white stripe down the middle. In sheltered spots, they will eventually form large shrubs and even small trees, with a beautiful airy branch structure. From the plant’s centre emerges bunches of curious-looking brown flowers, powerfully honey-scented and like catnip to bees.

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from Property | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2V0MiCy
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Are cleaning gurus sweeping an epidemic under the carpet?

Repetitive tasks can help with anxiety, but can we trust them to safeguard women’s mental health?

Good morning, how are you, the world is ending. Evidence: in three days, “cleanfluencer” Mrs Hinch sold more than 160,000 copies of her first book, revealing “How a spot of cleaning is the perfect way to cleanse the soul.”

Working backwards, it’s clear the end started not with a bang, but with a cupcake. Those were gentler days, malleable and doughy, when, without anybody really noticing, fairy cakes graduated from children’s party snacks to fancy ladies’ treats. They looked the same – a soft, disembodied knee of dough, painted blue and scattered with sugar beads – but fundamentally, cupcakes were a very different proposition. They were playful but naughty, camp nods to childhood from the lofty lifeguard’s chair of adulthood. They were comically feminine, like tiny iced drag queens.

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from Property | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2IMNOle
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Are cleaning gurus sweeping an epidemic under the carpet?

Repetitive tasks can help with anxiety, but can we trust them to safeguard women’s mental health?

Good morning, how are you, the world is ending. Evidence: in three days, “cleanfluencer” Mrs Hinch sold more than 160,000 copies of her first book, revealing “How a spot of cleaning is the perfect way to cleanse the soul.”

Working backwards, it’s clear the end started not with a bang, but with a cupcake. Those were gentler days, malleable and doughy, when, without anybody really noticing, fairy cakes graduated from children’s party snacks to fancy ladies’ treats. They looked the same – a soft, disembodied knee of dough, painted blue and scattered with sugar beads – but fundamentally, cupcakes were a very different proposition. They were playful but naughty, camp nods to childhood from the lofty lifeguard’s chair of adulthood. They were comically feminine, like tiny iced drag queens.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2IMNOle
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Is a cheaper but longer mortgage worth it to get on the ladder?

The rapid extension of mortgage terms from 25 to 40 years means different things for different people

As the cost of buying a property continues to exceed the budgets of many homebuyers, the prospect of paying less – but for much, much longer than previous generations – has emerged.

Recent research from Santander suggests that almost half of buyers would consider taking out a mortgage for a 40-year term in order to get on the property ladder.

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from Property | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2VBclPU
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Bean seeds ready to shoot | Allan Jenkins

Sowing mania starts to strike, but there is no need to panic

I am carrying around seed like a squirrel with a pouch, never knowing when I might need it. Like the start of a love affair, it’s hard to think of anything else. I’m daydreaming about rows of baby plants being born.

The three Trail of Tears beans I always have in my pocket (try explaining that to, say, Peruvian customs when they pat you down) are now almost a mixed handful. You see, I might be able to steal away, in a lunchtime window, an early morning or evening. I hear the longing call of land.

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from Property | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2IZV4Jv
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Bean seeds ready to shoot | Allan Jenkins

Sowing mania starts to strike, but there is no need to panic

I am carrying around seed like a squirrel with a pouch, never knowing when I might need it. Like the start of a love affair, it’s hard to think of anything else. I’m daydreaming about rows of baby plants being born.

The three Trail of Tears beans I always have in my pocket (try explaining that to, say, Peruvian customs when they pat you down) are now almost a mixed handful. You see, I might be able to steal away, in a lunchtime window, an early morning or evening. I hear the longing call of land.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2IZV4Jv
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Is it cheaper to rent or buy a home? Nottingham Estate Agents

If you can’t afford to buy, renting is cheaper. Right? Well the latest figures show that might not be the case. Here the Money Advice Service looks at whether buying a home costs less than renting Content provided by OnTheMarket.com is for information purposes only. Independent and professional advice should be taken before buying, selling, letting […]

The post Is it cheaper to rent or buy a home? appeared first on OnTheMarket.com blog.

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