SEPTEMBER 09, 2020 • Volume 15 • Issue 37
RE WEEKLY RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE • FARM • COMMERCIAL • AREA DEVELOPMENT 515-233-3299 • 317 5th Street, Ames • All REALTOR® ads within are REALTORS® licensed in the State of Iowa
Online at www.AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly
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HOME HELP D E C O R AT I N G T I P
CLEANING
GARDENING
TIPS FOR SECURELY HANGING DECORATIVE PLATES
USE LEMONS TO REMOVE STAINS FROM YOUR SINK
LEGUMES BOOST NITROGEN IN YOUR SOIL
Removing hard water or rust stains from your sink doesn’t require chemical cleaners. You can cut through those stains easily with something inexpensive and natural that you likely already have.
Plants in the legume family are “nitrogenfixing,” meaning they contribute nitrogen to the soil.
Don’t leave your favorite decorative plates hidden away in a cabinet or drawer. Learn how to hang plates on a wall with these tips from Home Depot. Spring-style plate hangers are an easy option for hanging plates. First, select the plates you want to use and find a place to hang them. Look for spring-style hangers with plasticcoated grippers. These will slip over the plates to hold them without scratching them. These hangers won’t be completely hidden, but you’ll only see the tips of the grippers when the plates are secured.
Rub a lemon wedge over water-stained chrome fixtures and, according to BobVila.com, the citric acid will cut through those stains and rust spots. BobVila.com also recommends using a sheet of wax paper worked over your clean fixtures to help repel water and stains.
Flip the plates over and trace around each one on a sheet of paper. Cut out the templates, arrange them into a design you like and the tape the templates to the wall with painter’s tape. To avoid letting the plates lean slightly away from the wall, attach a hanger to each plate and put the plate on a flat surface. Gently bend the back of the hanger so it just touches the table. Don’t bend it enough to damage or break it. This will help the plate rest against the wall.
“Nitrogen-fixing plants are those whose roots are colonized by certain bacteria that extract nitrogen from the air and convert or ‘fix’ it into a form required for their growth,” according to The Spruce. “When the bacteria are done with this nitrogen, it becomes available to the plants. ... By exploiting the process of nitrogen fixation, you can obtain this plant nutrient for your soil without resorting to chemical fertilizers.” For best results, The Spruce recommends inoculating legume seeds with Rhizobium bacteria. After your legume plants have stopped producing, simply till them into the soil to release their nitrogen. More Content Now
Hang the plates where you placed your templates, and enjoy your new look!
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These beautiful sunny yellow flowers are in the field of sunflowers my son grows. As the flower head matures and they go to seed, goldfinch are flitting around everywhere in the field. [BETTY
Sunflowers
MONTGOMERY]
are a joy to grow By Betty Montgomery More Content Now
W
e all know sunflowers (helianthus), as they are one of the most recognizable flowers. Their brilliant color and rustic charm endear them to young and old, gardener and painter. They grace gardens and fields, blooming in the latter part of the summer. Those tall stalks not only beg our attention, but they also attract birds, butterflies and bees. Each August, I ask my son Will to let me know when his field of sunflowers is blooming. I like to go and just enjoy the site and to pick some for the house. I am always curious which way they will be facing when I visit his field. It is fun to watch the young flowers turn eastward at dawn to greet the sun. Then, as the sun starts to rise above the horizon, these charming flowers begin their romance with the sun as they follow it across the sky. By sunset time, they will be facing west to watch the sun disappear into the horizon. Then by morning, they are all facing
east again and are ready to start again. Sunflowers come in many different colors and sizes. There are the tall ones that come to mind when someone mentions sunflowers. There are also mediumsize ones that grow to about 4 or 5 feet. Today, you can even get dwarf varieties that are quite charming, only growing to about 2 feet tall. Their colors have a wide range of hues, too, going from brilliant yellow to rust, brown and amber and shades in-between. There are also sunflowers that are continuous bloomers. This spring, I was visiting nurseries as I usually do, mask on and keeping a distance, of course. I was introduced to some new plants as I roamed the aisles. I always want to see what the different garden centers bring in to sell and to see which plants are the most popular. On my ventures to nurseries, two new annual sunflowers caught my attention. The first one was named SunBelievable, or Brown Eyed Girl Helianthus. It has the happy face of a sunflower with multi-branching and dwarf in size. SunBelievable has golden yellow petals that become reddish-brown towards the base
and they blend well into a dark brown center. This plant does not produce seed, putting all of its energy into making a constant crop of flowers. They are cheerful looking in the container, and I was told that they bloomed all summer long. I was keen to give this plant a try. When I purchased them, they had a few blooms and I assumed as the plant grew, I would see more. They have looked nice all summer, but now they are about to explode with even more blooms. I was content with the number I was getting, but in a week, I will have a bush with even more flowers covering the plant at a time when other flowers are starting to fade. Shortly after finding SunBelievable, I was visiting another nursery and I spotted another dwarf sunflower that was bright, clear yellow. It was named Sunfinity. This plant was about 18 inches tall with yellow, daisy-looking flowers that were quite cheerful looking. This plant was developed to give the home gardener colorful, long-lasting sunflower looking blooms that are smaller and bloom over several months. Sunfinity was created to have many stems with a multitude of
blooms to flower all season long. This was a unique and different way to look at sunflowers. They do not have the large heads of what I think of as traditional sunflowers — the bloom is only about 3 inches wide. However, the number of blooms and the length of time they have flowers make up for the size. There are companies that specialize in all the new and exciting sunflowers and catalogs to tempt you. You can save your seeds, but remember that crosspollination could have occurred and you might not get a flower that is exactly like the one you collected seed from. It is best to purchase new seeds each year if you want a particular sunflower. Sunflowers are a joy to grow, and I hope I always have some to greet the morning and to brighten the countryside. Betty Montgomery is a master gardener and author of “Hydrangeas: How To Grow, Cultivate & Enjoy,” and “A FourSeason Southern Garden.” She can be reached at bmontgomery40@gmail.com.
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DEAR MONTY When can home listing be called ‘new’?
RICHARD MONTGOMERY
eader question: Can real estate agents “game” the MLS system? When my current listing expires, how long do I need to wait to list again if I want my second listing to be marked “new” instead of “relist”?
R
Monty’s answer: There are over 700 multiple listing services (MLS) in the
U.S., and they all operate independently. This structure means there may be more than one answer. The MLS I am familiar with will show your home as a new listing if you are switching brokers. The MLS will assign a unique ID code to the property. Many agents conduct MLS searches using the ID code. However, even if you switch brokers, when the property is searched for in the MLS by the street address, the entire history will display. There is no waiting period to consider in this decision. Switching brokers is what triggers the new ID code. Reasons sellers seek ‘new listing’ status There is statistical evidence that new listings get a spike in activity when coming on the market. When a new home
becomes available, the existing “buyer pool” checks it out in the first few days. The second reason sellers seek the new listing status is to avoid informing new buyers coming into the market. Sellers, buyers and agents can incorrectly assume the new entrants will think there must be something wrong with the house and avoid pursuing it. While a valid concern, it is just as possible that prospective buyers will suspect the only thing wrong was too high a price. ‘Gaming’ the system It is unethical to attempt to conceal time on the market. Even if a seller or agent conspires to do so, the jig will be up when the new owners meet their new neighbors. Consider interviewing several agents and asking them if there is a way
to redact the MLS history, so it appears the property has not previously been for sale. You may get different responses. It can sometimes help you decide which agent not to pick. Some real estate agents will cave in or see no harm in the practice. I believe an ethical agent can succeed in explaining that only incorrect pricing was the culprit. The seller did not “lose” value they never had. Follow Richard Montgomery on Twitter at @dearmonty.
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