A growing concern: is it ever OK to steal plant cuttings?

Gardeners and collectors have shared cuttings for generations, but as certain plants have become status symbols, questions of ethical grey areas have arisen

In December, Cory Jarrell of Portland, Oregon, posted a photo he never imagined he would have to share with his 16,000 Instagram followers: loose, limp cuttings of plants, pinched off without permission from over a dozen rare plants.

Jarrell’s specialty plant shop, Potted Elephant, had suffered a fate experienced by a small but growing number of nurseries, shops and botanical gardens in the wake of the booming specialty plant market: unscrupulous collectors and sellers pilfering cuttings (and sometimes, entire plants) without permission in order to resell online and net a profit.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/30o9udh
via IFTTT

A 25C wash is greenest – but can it really clean filthy clothes?

Researchers claim a 30-minute, low-temperature cycle sheds fewer microfibres. Now the onus must be on detergent manufacturers to ensure their products work in colder water

Clothes washed at 25C on a 30-minute cycle shed fewer microfibres into waste water and keep their colour for longer, researchers at the University of Leeds have found. This makes sense. After all, consumers have long been advised by detergent manufacturers and environmental organisations to turn down the dial on the washing machine to 30C. Dropping to 25C is a small adjustment, but possibly a greater psychological one: will clothes really be clean at that temperature, and on such a short cycle?

Lucy Cotton, the report’s lead author, explains that 25C is usually the “inlet” temperature of water in a washing machine – the natural, unchilled and unheated temperature at which the water enters the drum. Her research tested the release of dye and of microfibres from a range of consumer clothing, such as Fruit of the Loom T-shirts. However, the clothes were not dirty when they went into the wash, and only the release of microfibres and desorption of dye were measured. “We weren’t testing for cleanliness,” she says. “One of the things that is useful about this study is that it puts the onus on detergent manufacturers to explore this area. Can they make the cleanliness happen in a cold, quick wash?”

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NrUoOF
via IFTTT

Renting conditions making millions sick or suffer stress or anxiety

Survey reveals sky-high prices and poor living conditions causing stress and anxiety

Private renting is making millions of people ill with almost half of England’s 8.5 million renters experiencing stress or anxiety and a quarter made physically sick as a result of their housing, campaigners have said.

Unaffordable rents, poor living conditions and the risk of eviction are causing a quarter of people – about 2.7 million – to feel hopeless while more than 2 million have been made physically ill, according to polling of nearly 4,000 private renters on behalf of housing charity Shelter.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2sqvfN3
via IFTTT

Top garden trends for 2020 from The Society of Garden Designers Nottingham Estate Agents

The Society of Garden Designers has spoken to some of the top talent in the industry to predict the garden trends that are likely to be most popular in 2020, from edible forests to patterned gardens. Belgian Design Belgian design style, which has been described as ‘luxurious simplicity,’ is expected to come to the fore […]

The post Top garden trends for 2020 from The Society of Garden Designers appeared first on OnTheMarket.com blog.

from OnTheMarket.com blog https://ift.tt/36WpNjO
via IFTTT

Keep it simple: functional design from Japan and Sweden – in pictures

Take the best of Japanese and Scandinavian design to make your home zen with a touch of hygge

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/380ZGIA
via IFTTT

Keep it simple: functional design from Japan and Sweden – in pictures

Take the best of Japanese and Scandinavian design to make your home zen with a touch of hygge

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/380ZGIA
via IFTTT

Five top tips for taking the best photographs to sell or let a home Nottingham Estate Agents

Hennings Moir Estate Agents reveal how best to prepare a property to guarantee the all-important photographs Whether you are taking photographs of your home for a property website or a property brochure, it’s important to remember that these images could mean the difference between a potential buyer or tenant booking a viewing, or deciding against […]

The post Five top tips for taking the best photographs to sell or let a home appeared first on OnTheMarket.com blog.

from OnTheMarket.com blog https://ift.tt/2b34VA1
via IFTTT