Can't help with any advice on selling a house, but what a nice big yard you'll have! So what do you think, can you fit in there 2 or 3 times the amount of roses in the new yard?lol

Yes, good thing you can move whatever plants you want to your mom's. That's why we'll never move.........couldn't bear the thought of leaving my garden behind!

This'll be an exciting time for you, hopefully all will go well with the purchase and selling, and there won't be any "hiccups". Good luck! And make sure you keep us posted!

Yes, I have moved...it was in the spring, though. Since the people did not see the perennials I had and we did not show them pictures of the perennial beds what I did was dig out each plant as it came up in the spring, placed them in pots and moved the pots (my garden) to the acreage. It worked great.

For you...if you are looking at putting it up for sale, mark in the contract that you will be taking cuttings/divisions from your plants. Some plants will be special and they will not be included in the purchase of your home. You never know who will buy your home. Maybe they will turn around and rip out all the perennials and plant grass. Then you will be kicking yourself in not taking more of the plants in the first place.

Things like crocuses, alliums, tulips and daffodils they will not know are there unless you show them a picture of them.

Dig the plants you want out, pot them up and sink the whole pot at your mom's place.

Good luck!

Brenda

Gil, yes for sure, imagine all that extra space that youÂll have to grow your roses, lilies, daylilies and other perennials!!!

That is what enticed me to move here in August 2000. MORE GARDEN SPACE!

The Ol Man applied for a oil rig machinist here in Wainwright, heck I didnÂt even know where the heck Wainwright was, I had to look it up on the map. There was no way I was going to move from Saskatoon, I was going to buy out his half and leave him because I didnÂt want to leave my wonderful job, family and friends. BUT, BUT, BUT, then he promised me a acreage if we did move, well that just changed everything, LOL.

We too bought this property and sold our old house privately, saved a lot of money this way. Thankfully the people that were living in the house cleared out the garage so that we could start moving stuff in early which was around the middle of July, each weekend we would drive back and forth of 2 loads each day.

Then it came to the major move, the GARDEN, if I were to do it again, I would not bother digging up any trees/ shrubs or ordinary plants, take only those that are dear to you, like your GrandmaÂs roses. Me, I dug up everything, aprox 400 species, took me 6 trips back and forth with my little hatchback car, then once I got them all over here, I had to transplant them all into a holding bed which was a lot of work. At that time the soil was awful, hard rock clay, it was also hot and dry and of course my time was not focused on gardening, I was so busy juggling 2 new casual jobs, meeting new friends, getting to know the town, which was very stressful at that particular time in my life.

By the following spring, ¾ of those tranplanted plants died, oh how depressing that was and what a waste of time and gas money, mind you gas was way cheaper at that time but still it was not at all good ;)

Therefore, keep in mind, just take only those plants that are beloved to your heart, Daisies, Blanket Flowers, Delphiniums, etc all can be started or purchased again.
DonÂt worry, IÂll save you lots of seed so that you can WS ;)

Best wishes,
Sharon

If you could dig up a post of Kelly Rae's (there were a couple this spring), you could email her and ask for advice. That's what she's doing this summer - transforming a totally empty yard by moving all her perennials from her old house and a cabin. What a job! But i can't wait to see what she does with that yard - i bet it will be spectacular!

I've never had a major move with plants, but i can imagine how difficult it would be to leave some behind. They're kind of like your kids, eh? LOL Hey, leave the kids, take the plants! There were days like that!

Anyway, good luck, Gil, and be sure to do the before and after thing with pictures!

I agree with Sharon, take only those plants that have special meaning for you. It is too much work and not everything will make it. I had to move from acreage to a basement suite. I dug up everything and gave it all to family. I have since gotten back some of what will make it in this zone which is cool. The plants I gave my MIL are lost. They moved and she didn't take anything which had meaning for me. :( That hurts as I had special plants from my Godmother. I'll save seed for whatever you want as well. Between all of us you'll have a great new garden at your new place. Congratulations on getting lots more space. You'll have to post pictures if you get it.

Syreeta

So the agent has come and gone, the offer is made, we will know tomorrow... The good thing is, the agent confirmed what we were thinking about our house's value so that is a weight off my mind.

Aaaah you girls are all great, I needed to tell someone how nuts I am feeling about moving the garden, nobody else understands! LOL. Thanks for the advice. It's hard for me because everything has some special meaning, whether it's Grandma's roses or gifts from Mom, or stuff you all sent me, or just stuff that was rare or a challenge to germinate, or whatever. I know I will get serious about what's important, and also I will be telling any potential buyers that I will be removing several plants from the gardens. I will not be moving any trees or shrubs. The lilies and DLs will be easy, and of course I will be able to take seeds from a lot of my perennials since it will be fall. You guys with your offers of seeds almost made me choke up (LOL) it's so nice of you. Of course you know this means I will be dividing my daylilies... hahaha!

The thing that is really killing me now... is no fall bargain hunting! And no fall mail orders! Eeeek!

Oh yeah did I mention there are somewhat developed gardens there already... hee hee! Of course I will post pictures. Before and after, hopefully after will be more impressive because it does need work. But the house is 1920 Sq.ft. with 5 bedrooms and it's (almost) on the river which is really cool.

Keeping my fingers crossed that you get the house.

Syreeta

Sounds like an exciting move Gil! All that space in an established yard, lovely. Look forward to the pictures!
I've been toiling with the same dilemma, what to take and what to leave. Unfortunately, I have no one close by who can plant sit so I've decided that things I can't readily replace I'll be taking along, I'll be saving seeds from some of my favorites and the rest will be happily leave behind. I think I've narrowed it down to about 10-15 potted plants.

Let us know when you have a firm moving date...!

What an exciting adventure. If you do move, fall is a good time to transplant perennials. I've done lots of dividing in the fall. Maybe you could make a deal with whoever buys your place that you could come in spring to get more things that are special to you.
Shelley

Oh, the house and yard sound wonderful. Man, with 5 bedrooms, you can have quite a few of us come over for a weekend to help you plan your new garden ;^)

I guess all those improvements you did to your yard must have helped to increase your asking price. They say curb appeal can add 10%-15% to the price of a house. Just think, so many people think that gardening is a waste of time........but it can make you big bucks! Can you tell I watch too many home improvement shows??lol

Got my fingers crossed for you too.

Hey, Gil what an adventure this will be.

I have moved several times, but have never been able to take my plants, either because of the distance of the move or we'd move in the winter. :-( Been here for 10 years now and I told DH if we move again, it had to be in summer....I am not leaving my garden behind now. So I can sooooo relate.

I wouldn't leave things and expect to go back in spring to get them....what if the new owners then decide you can't. I wouldn't chance that.

Don't forget the iris' you already ordered.

Good luck and hope you get this house by the water. Did someone say they were dividing daylilies? :-)

Sierra

Well! The agent returned with an acceptable counter offer this evening... so we bought it! Whoooo! Our possession date is Oct. 1 provided we sell our house by then (shouldn't be too much worry, we're in a good area and aren't being greedy). We have decided to use the same agent since he offered a reduced commission for two listings, plus we never did figure out what to do with the pets while we show the house, if one of us is at work at the time.

So anyway, a fall move will be good for transplanting and yes I have a couple of daylilies that need dividing (Bonanza, Summer Wine & that dark red one) but I really need to get organized before I promise any trades. ;0) Oh yeah Sierra I noticed on the agent's photo of the house, they have a huge clump of yellow and brown irises. LOL good thing because I think I accidentally sent you all mine last year!

Yeah I know I have irises coming from Chapmans, they should be here soon since I saw my cheque went through some time ago. I think I'll plant them at my Mom's house for this year.

Oh wow this is exciting!

Congratulations on the new house. Looking forward to pictures of the new yard.

Syreeta

Congratulations!

Oh Gil, I am sooooooo HAPPY for you! Congratulations on your new house!

5 bedrooms, wow, I think you'd better get starting filling those extra 4 bedrooms with you know what ;)
{{gwi:692940}}

Take lots of photos of the progress and for sure I would love some of those divisions of your DL's!!!!!!!!!

Hugs,
Sharon

Noooooo! No babies here! Funny you should mention that though because my brother has already referred to it as a baby factory. LOL.

Congratulations on getting the house! Oct 1 is a really a good time to move and get settled in before Christmas. We did a move in the middle of winter and it was murder on the houseplants..........literally!

"Noooooo! No babies here!"

When we moved here, that's when things starting happening! Just warning ya, a larger yard does it every time. Or is it that new house excitement? Hmmmmm ;^)

5 bedrooms, wow...

One for your DH and you. One for his office, one for your craft/hobby room, that still leaves 2 empty....

When we lived in Brandon we had a 6 bedroom house, one for DH and I, one for our daughter, one for our 2 boys, one for a kids'playroom, one for my DH's office and one for my sewing/craft/hobby room. It was wonderful. Then...12 years ago, we moved to an acreage and into a 3 bedroom home. Not so wonderful...but I now had 10 acres to landscape!

You have the best of both...a larger home AND a larger piece of property to landscape! Have fun doing so! If you are interested in a plant exchange sometime to help fill the beds, let me know.

Brenda

Very nice, Gil. Congratulations. I agree, October 1st is a great time to move. Not too hot, not to cold. Blink once and it will be Halloween, blink twice and it'll be Christmas and then it's time to start winter sowing and planning for spring. You'll be gardening before you know it. Next spring will be really exciting as you watch things pop up that you didn't know were there.

Shauna

Congratulations!! How exciting! With 5 bedrooms and that great big yard you should have lots of space...watch out for that new home excitement though!...It got us too. We moved here in March 2004 and by August Hubert was on the way... ;o)

When you're preping your home for showing don't for get that all important sense of smell. When we were house shopping we walked away from a little acreage, because it smelled weird when we came in...and no matter where you went you couldn't get that smell out of your nose. It made us think something was growing (or dying...ugh) in the walls. Chocolate chip cookies or baking bread or apple pie are great smells that give warm fuzzy 'homey' feelings to most people...and are supposed to work well to prompt potential buyers (or so I've heard)...

Good luck and keep us posted.

Verena

Well, our house is going on the market immediately after the long weekend - we have spent the last week ripping it apart, getting most of our belongings out to reduce clutter, and painting and repairing too. I had to install entirely new plumbing in the shower and tub - the taps were broken, and I got one of the modern ones with a swivel tap in the middle - so I then had to replace some tiles... it goes on and on.

I've also been doing some quickie landscaping at the front of the house - because despite what Laurie said, my house has absolutely no plantings in the front and no curb appeal. So I put in a little rock garden with evergreens. Will get a pic tomorrow :0)

Verena, you are so right about the smell (good to see ya BTW, it's been a while). I have 4 pets and the agent said there was a bit of a 'petty' smell when he came in - so I'm going to be cleaning very thoroughly and I already bought a nice air freshener.

I really don't know about food smells, they can either seem contrived or offputting. I would almost think if I was viewing a home that smelled like cinnamon, oh they cooked cinnamon because their house stinks. LOL. I saw a "sell this house" type show recently where they put out a big bowl of popcorn on the coffee table... now that I found gross. I hate the smell of popcorn and it just looked like food lying around. Ew.

I really don't know what I am going to do with all the rooms - I'll be bouncing around the place like a ping pong ball for a while. I'll be able to have a studio and start drawing again. And no, I have never even had second thoughts about not wanting kids. Sorry! Maybe if Sharon came up with a picture that wasn't crying... LOL.

Gil, you can use a room or two for grow lights, right? :)

Oh yes for sure, keep one spare room for your grow-lite room, hopefully your new neighbors will not think you're growing something illegal thou ;)

When can we see a photo of the front of your new house, can you drive out there tomorrow and take on for us.
LOL, I'm just as excited as you ;)

What about trees, are there lots of mature trees on the property?

Sharon

Yes there are some huge pines, and two nice large basswoods, that I noticed. The pines are so tall they have been pruned up to the second storey windows, and don't actually waste much gardening space ;0)

In the gardens I noticed mostly Solomon's Seal, something that might have been artemisia, some peonies, yellow & brown irises, blue bellflower (grrr), tall orange daylilies... you know, old house flowers.

I was thinking of where to put all my grow lights... probably in the basement, mainly because there is lot of moisture and dripping water associated with seedlings, and I don't want to wreck the floors upstairs.

Congratulations on the new house!! Sound like it should be fun and a new challenge to landscape. Moving should not be too hard as you have not been in one place too long and haven't collected too much. When we moved to our present location in town 8 years ago, we had been on a small farm for 22 years and did we have a lot to throw out and move. Also some of the stuff I had, I took to an auction and made enough to buy a new lawnmower. I did not move too many plants because there was a garden spot about 4'x8' and the rest was grass, so only the favorites went. It was a good move and I like it in town. Hopefully you will like your new location.

Cheers Al

Did just that in 1997 when I moved from one house to another... Worked out well, I planted in the veggie garden so it was fairly organized but it was a couple of years before I got all the poppies out because one had seeded there. LOL How exciting and please post pictures. Does property move quickly in your area? This all might happen quick for you.

So Gil, any updates, are you finished packing. LOL

Sharon

Update - our house is going on the market on Wednesday. I have been working round the clock fixing all the little things that I should have fixed years ago. Like Marcia said some time ago, putting the baseboards back on and stuff. LOL. We laid sod over what used to be the vegetable garden, and I spent last night edging the sidewalks and trimming the hedges. We have moved most of our belongings out and just have to reorganize and clean what's left(!) I hope it sells fast, it's a desirable but affordable neighbourhood and the house is in good shape. We have until Sept. 1 to sell it under our agreement of sale.

My DH wants to know if we can move the compost... I am converting him... LOL!! I said we would take the composter but perhaps we could offer the compost to the neighbour who has been such a good friend. DH looked disappointed.

Wow, Gil, this sounds really great! This definately could happen fast for you.

We made a big move with plants when we moved to this house. We moved at the beginning of summer so it was a good time to dig up bulbs and such.

My SIL bought a house a while back (before we moved here) and dug up everything and tossed it in the garbage because it was a "pain in the ***** to look after plants".... yeah, most people don't care the way we do! LOL

Looking forward to seeing pics of your new place... etc! LOL

Ang

Congrats on your new house & yard. It must be exciting to plan the new landscape!
Re: taking plants with you - I am a transient with 30+ moves & have seen many real estate listings with a clause that some of the perennials will be going with the current owners. If it's not too late, include it in the formal documentation like you would for a shed or appliances. That way there is no arguing later.

Well my house is on the market... the first showing is in 15 minutes... I have the internet disconnected at home and very limited time at work, so you might not see much of me for a little while. Thanks everyone for the advice and support! See you soon. I'll be checking in as much as I can.

Good luck Gil. It will sure be quiet around here without you. Hurry up now ;)

Yes, good luck with the showings. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
And Sharon's right, things won't be the same around here without ya!

Sold it! We caved and decided the extra $3000 we wanted was small potatoes and not worth keeping the house clean at all times. What a pain in the butt selling a house... two out of seven showings turned up at the wrong time and we were home. Sheesh.

So, we are moving Sept. 15. Might reconnect the internet at home in the interim.

Only a month, then! I mean, you only have a month to get everything packed and out of there. Wow. Honestly, i would need a year at least! LOL

Congratulations and good luck!

Congrats on the quick sale, Gil.
I think it was a wise move on your part to accept the lower price and avoid the hassle of showings and the uncertainty....now you can look forward to your new home.
Margaret

Gil,

Were you able to put into the sale contract that you would be removing/dividing some of the perennials or had you already dug out/divided what you 'needed'?

Brenda

I'm glad everything worked out for you, Gillian. I always liked moving - from the time I left home until we moved back (about 20 years) I moved to 14 different residences and 5 different cities. Even though we're now 'settled', I still get itchy feet from time to time. Best of luck with the move.

Wow Pudge, 14 moves! That's a lot! I'm excited about moving but really sad too, I get so emotionally attached to my home, even my first two room apartment which was horrid, I still choke up if I drive past it.

The thing that swayed us to accept the lower price, is the family that bought it are newly immigrated from Eastern Europe somewhere and it must be such a nice house for them in a good neighbourhood... not to sound condescending but it just makes me happy to think that they will appreciate it. Plus now my cats can come home because it's not being shown anymore :0)

Brenda, I mentioned to my agent three times that I would be removing plants and he just didn't think it was an issue at all. I won't be moving any shrubs besides roses, and all the herbaceous perennials are staying because I have collected seeds. The only things I'm really digging up and hauling away are lilies and daylilies, and they weren't blooming when the house was shown so I'm sure they won't notice that they are gone. I hope the new owners like gardening... sigh. All my babies.

Wow, that was really fast Gil!

I know exactly what you mean, I'm the same way, it is very emotional moving away from home sweet home, but look at it this way, the grass will be greener and bigger on the other side of the fence.

You're going to be one busy gal all winter long, planning and deciding what new roses and other plants that youÂre going to replace the grass with, IÂm sure ;)

Glad to hear the kitties are coming home.

Best wishes!
Sharon

Congratulations on selling your house so quickly! What a relief that must be. I'm sure it'll be tough moving out of that house as it was your Grandmother's, right?
We're in the midst of clearing out my Grandmother's house as the new owners take possession on Sept 1. This was their retirement house and they were there for 25 years. I didn't think it would bother me as much as it has. So many memories..................*sniff*

Congradulations on the purchase of your new home and the quick sale of your present home.
Shelley