There Will Be A Change To My Blog.

Time for a change here! 

After being here for the past

11 years it was time to cut back

on the posts to what most folks

are looking for.

Enjoy!

Imagine

 Imagine there's no Heaven

It's easy if you try

No Hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people
Living for today
Ah, ah, ah-ah

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion, too

Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
Yoo-hoo, ooh-ooh

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
Yoo-hoo, ooh-ooh

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

RIP  John, on your anniversary 

of your death.

Lets Talk Clivia

 

I have been ask for information on Clivias

and just received this from another grower 

which I think it is good advice.

I recently was on a quest to find the best way

to clean the water spots off the leaves.  Last

year I put them in the brug house with the

eppies over the top of them, so when I would

water the eppies they would drip and water

the Clivias.  Some folks recommend the 

cleaning of leaves monthly.  What I found

that works best if equal amounts of Lemon

juice and water.  Some of the ones that 

haven't been cleaned a while the water

spots need another rubbing.

Our Home Is NOT For Sale!!

 I don't know about you but I'm so 

sick of the postal cards and letters

from Real Estate folks wanting to 

buy our home due to they have a

client that wants the house.  

STOP:  NOT FOR SALE!!

We used to have them stop by 

and have found out that one neighbor

was sending them!  But ya know we

have never gotten a real offer, no money

has ever been offered.  Don't waste

our time!!  If there isn't a sign out 

front then it's not for sale.

Let us save you time and effort.

Our asking price is well over $500,000

as the County has stated our lot 

can hold 3 houses!

Again yesterday (3/25/2021)  we

received a card asking to buy our home!

Love the photo that was taken some 8 to 10 

years ago and it was taken a block away.

It was shredded right away after reading it.

NO amount, old photo and no I'm not calling

the number.  Why??  To me it's a scam and

worthless!!  Some lazy ass real estate person

that doesn't get it??  If there isn't a sign at

the curb, again it's not for sale!!

Well our house price just went up to $750,000

You can thank Jessica for that.  Again we

get this postal card, please call or text me!!

Sorry it not going to happen!!  No business

name or even an offer.  What a waste of time!

Rain!!! #LeafGuard Gutters

 With yesterday's rain one can sit back

and enjoy Mother's Natures watering 

of the plants but it would of been nice 

seeing it spread out a little the last few

months.  Sure helps with the fires and

the smoke in the air!!  It felt so good

to be out in the garden while it was 

raining.  The best time to garden!!

But again I watched the rain fall from

the gutters and drips all over the place.

They are just so worthless it's not funny.

So if you are looking for gutters, do not

buy the rhetoric that their commercial 

are trying to sell you.  You still have to

climb that ladder to clean off your roof

and the top of their gutters where the debris

will stay.  Then you have the holes in the 

corners that it goes into.  Their commercials

show it sliding over the top and just the

water going inside, pure BS!!  Why then

do they sell you catch traps??  They know 

that the debris goes in and they will clog.

While up on the roof cleaning this past week

I had to hand pull out each hole to clean them

out.  While up there I watched hornets flying

in and out of the gutters, beside pulling 

branches that got stuck in them.

My husband had cleaned out the traps right 

before I cleaned the roof and when the rain

hit I was out working in the yard and heard

water running.  It took me a while to find it

and it was coming from one of the traps.

Yep, it was again full and had to be cleaned

out so that the water could flow into the 

rain barrel. 

I then checked on the spots that 

had been issues in the past and 

sure enough there was leaks all 

over the place!  #Leaf Guard 

gutters are just a piece of junk!!   

We never had an issue with the 

old fascia gutters we had on

prior.  

I also cleaned out the rain barrels for the fall

time and I was shocked to see how dirty the 

inside of the barrels were.  Mind you, we 

haven't had much rain this summer and they

looked like they had if I skipped cleaning.

Our barrels are cleaned out twice a year.

Lots of fir junk and the tops of the barrels 

get covered not only with junk but this 

year we are really fighting the sap!  It's how

these trees were left go and cut back to the 

point they are really bad.    When we had

our fence fixed the poor guys had to deal

with the worst sap they had ever dealt with.

You can see the sap running out of the areas

where they were cut.

If you haven't heard about our 

Leaf Guard story, let's just say 

we are not one of their 1 million 

satisfied customers.  Their commercials

just make me laugh with the false

advertisement.  Don't fall for the hipe,

read the fine print and do not install 

them!!  You can even fall taking your 

ladder to go climb up on the roof!!  

We have file with the BBB on them

and they didn't answer the complaint.  

So we went to the Attorney General 

of OR and I was floored to see them 

close the case and didn't even allow

us to rebut the letter.  It was news to 

us that they offered us money, but again

their errored in so many ways we still 

wanted a full refund.  Yep they violated 

their own contract.  Their attorney's 

letter was so full of lies it wasn't funny.

The reason my husband wanted the 

gutters was to keep me off the roof 

as I do the cleaning of it and the gutters.  

I have been told many times to stay 

off the roof, even my doctors have told

me this, so he thought this would help.  

Wrong, if you properly maintain your 

home you have to be up there to remove

the debris from neighboring trees.  

Mind you we don't have trees that dump

junk on our roof, so if their gutter work right

it shouldn't be an issue?  Yes, we

have heard from LeafGuard that we 

have a neighboring tree issue after they 

were installed.  So we asked why buy

their gutters if they don't keep the junk

out like the commercials state?

I had the manager out and watched 

him shake his head at the work that 

was done and how the traps were full. 

We had just emptied them out prior to 

him coming out.  

Then we hear it's our roof issue, it wasn't an

issue when the salesperson was here to sell

us their gutters!!  We had asked several times

and he wrote on the sales contract our roof was 

fine, house built in the 1970s, roof not that old.

But we have leaks worse now than with the old

gutters.  Plus they had to tweak the gutters just

a few weeks after installing them in 12+ places.

The gutters financing, left a bad taste in

our mouths and one can call it bate and

switch.  We only needed to finance 

$5,000 and was told that our credit was 

denied but we have a rating of well 

over 700??  So the guy ran it again

and low and behold the loan went thru,

but we were shocked in a few days 

when both of us were issued credit 

cards for $30,000 each.  We quickly

paid that off and cut up the cards!!   

Then with we raised an issue with

the BBB all heck broke loose.  We

had an issue that water was flowing

from behind the gutters by the 

entryway and called them.  They 

came out and assured us it was 

fixed but it still leaked the next 

rain.  They have not been

out to fix any of the issues.  

Then the attorney general got

our complaint.  Mind you that 

we were following proper protocol

to solve the issue.  What a joke, 

our case was closed when their 

attorney wrote to ask for it to be

closed. We got a copy of  the letter

after they had closed the case and 

found all the lies, but they won't 

reopen it.  They are now blaming

our roof!!  

You see they violated their own contract!  

They were to put cream colored gutters 

up and no they didn't come with a machine

to make them on site.  A truck came out

with them precut and ready to install.  

Makes one wonder if they had them from 

another job as when they left we found hole 

in the back of the gutters in a few spots.

We were told we should take the color 

we got due to they didn't know when 

they would be back out.  To us that 

violated the contract!!    They offered to

put the right color up but we stopped 

them cold with all the issues we had, 

the change of color  wouldn't solve the issue.  

They tried to bully us to make the change, 

the district manager got caught in recording 

our calls.   Then tried to say we were the 

ones that recorded the call, wrong!!! 

I told him he couldn't record the call 

as it was against the law without informing 

the other party first.  Then  I heard it 

was a roof issue from him.  Mind you 

when the guys were out and we heard 

them say this, I asked if any of them 

were licensed roofers?  Nope was their

answer.  We even went as far as contact

the roof company we uses and they were

to come out and the Leaf Guard folks 

heard we were going to have them come 

out and they were out the next morning 

to tweak the gutters and found all the

errors made.  The roof guy came out 

and was shocked at what he saw, 

took photos back to the shop.  They

had put goop up to try to stop the leaks.   

I was told our roof looked great and

they could tell someone was really

taking great care of it.  They gave 

us an estimate for a new roof but we 

were told it might not solve 

the issue of  the Leaf Guard gutters

as they are closed tops and have a 

poor design.  

So my next step was to get estimates 

for gutters to replace the LG ones and 

that was done.  Boy did I get an ear 

full from the companies that came out.

Why are so many folks not filing complaints??  

They just have them replaced??  

We are not one of their so call million 

stratified customers.  Go to Pissed 

Comsumer.com and read their complaints.

There is plenty more to this story, just ask!!

1. #Leaf Guard violates own contract.

2. #Leaf Guard gutters don't work like 

      the commercial states.

3. #Leaf Guard high pressure sales person.

4. #Leaf Guard lies

5. #Leaf Guard attorney lies

6. #Leaf Guard design flaws

7. #Leaf Guard don't buy!

8. #Leaf Guard missed appointments and

       no phone call

9. # Leaf Guard and Good Housekeeping

       don't stand by their product.

10. # Leaf Guard brought our gutters precut.

11. # Leaf Guard recorded conversation 

       without tell customer or requesting permission.

12. # Put up the wrong color!!

2/17/2021

With the 18 inches of snow we had it was just

a shock to see the snow go over the top of the

gutters and when it melted it dripped not into

the gutters but straight to the ground.  When

it got cold at night the icicles formed.   Soon

these will be coming off our house!!

Let me tell you,  I am glad I painted the house

when I did.  I found so many areas that were

rotten and had to be fixed.

When the neighbor went to have their house 

painted they had dry rot as they  had their 

LG on longer than we did.

Videos of leaks and issues, there were more

than what we used to show the LG folks of

some of the issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VzONecllXs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaiRNLqol9c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO25ztXrwdU

New gutter photos:

We were told it was a design issue and no flashing

was installed with the gutters so that allowed the

water to go behind the gutter not flow over the 

top like the LG folks say.    

One will still have to climb the ladder to clean off

the roof and while up there I blow out the gutters 

with the blower vac.  

We went with the 6 inch gutter that is wider than the

smaller ones, they hold plenty of water and we left

the LG downspouts on the house as they were already

up.  We have rainbarrels so an add screen was put on

top to get the debris that yes, still comes down.

As a home owner one needs to maintain not only the 

roof but the gutters!

ABAD's Color Chart

Someone asked for photos of the
ABAD's Color Chart that I use when
I talk about Brugs.  If you were a member
and want to be taken seriously about
hybridizing and testing, these were
used.  When you look at a computer
color sometimes they are different due
to the light.   So with the chart one can
check the chart and put the color number
on the photo.

From the color chart above the number

is: 255,239, 0

Brugmansia/Datura/Iochroma Update

I have had several folks ask me to update
this post due to the old one was one of
our earlier posts.  Alot has gone on since
that post and folks have asked for my secrets
when growing them.

It has been a passion to learn about these
lovely ladies of the night and if you don't
have this passion it makes it hard to
understand them.

With that stated, every gardener is
different and when you see what one
person does with them it can take
your breath away.

I hope get to this soon as we hit
the busy season it might be awhile.
I tend to disappear as I spend most of my day
outside.

As some of you know I have joined a couple
FB groups and ya know I just try to help the
new folks as much as I can but it's getting to
the point, I truly understand why folks don't
help others.   I swore when I started growing
these lovely ladies of the night I would try to
help others as it was a total pain to get information
that could be helpful.  I had a couple folks that
stepped up and with their push I was able to
make sense of their growing habits.  The key
that one gave me it to watch and learn.  The more
you watch them the more your will learn.  You
need to figure out what they are telling you.  No
on lives in the perfect environment that these live
in naturally unless you live in that area.  So to
have them adapt to the conditions you have and
to get them to bloom can be a challenge.

A lot has changed since when we started and some
of the rules have changed but there are some rules
that were passed along that should be used first. 
Don't grab the harsh chemicals to treat your Brugs
before trying some simple treatments first.  Pay
attention and daily look them over. These plants
are not the easiest to care for so know what you are
dealing with up front.  They carry a virus that you want
to stay dormant or you will see them go down hill
fast.  So always clean your tools.   If you don't the
virus will spread like wildfire.  Know what disease
that these are acceptable to.  Keep some cousins at
distance as they say this will help keep the virus at
bay.  Yes, this virus can take out a collection and you
won't be able to grow them at a later date.  I have seen
and heard of this happening.

These are trees and shrubs, so their growing conditions
should be in the ground or in pots.  NO Hanging Baskets!!
Yes, you heard that right!  Nurseries will do just about anything
to sell a plant.  But common sense is do you see them in the
wild in hanging baskets?  Do what is in the best interest
of the species.  If you want a hanging basket find plants that
are suitable for the said hanging basket.   I just shake my head
when I see them and wonder what is wrong with this person.
But again why do folks try this stuff??   Is the money that important
or is the plant important?   It's also like growing several colors
together in one pot, please each color has a different growing
condition so do you honestly think it's going to work?   Do you
know how much work it takes to make this work in one pot and
what happens when one plant dies?  I'll tell you it's not a pretty
picture.   I did this to prove a point and it's more work than the
average person can handle. 

The main key here is to keep the Brugmansia healthy!  Know the
growing conditions, don't over feed them!!  I know you have heard
that you can't over feed them, wrong!!  You can push them to death!!
My general rule that I tell folks is fertilize them on Sunday, which is
easy for some to remember.   So many times I hear I have seen
what you do but can't get ours to do it.   I have had years of experience
with them and these are new to you? 

Growing from seeds, is the best way to learn.  That way you can see
how they grow.  Slowly bump up the pots once the roots come out the
bottom.  Also we do not push new seedlings until they are a year old.
This makes for a better plant.  Also growing by seed, you can then name
them!!  Warning, give them a number while you grow.  Record how they
grow and keep track of what you do.  Also keep track of the Hybridizer and
what crosses were made if you plan to register.  You are the Brug Parent, some
will ask you to test the seeds and you have the information to pass back to the
hybridizer.  If you purchased the seeds their is few conditions that the hybridizer
can request of you. 

But so many folks want that instant 'Pretty' and then
loose interest.  These need care to grow into gentle giants that you can
stand up under and enjoy the blooms as you look upwards.  So many folks
just toss them after the one growing season.  Which is so sad! 

You must be patient with plants, they grow when they are cared for.  Don't
put them in huge pots until they are ready.  These ladies love to be root bound
and save your backs.  I have had some in 5 gallon pots for years.  Yes you can
shave off roots it they get to root bound and they will love you for it, if done
right.  We also keep our in pickle buckets for a reason, easy to put on a dolly
to move and easy to store. 

Again I have walked away from the groups, just find I'm way to busy and need

to spend time with the plants.  Just got to do what I enjoy more.