Good side of the Ceanothus

I wish I had some of that rock ! Very nice.

It's called 'Blue Lias' stone and the Quantock Hills near us here in Somerset has a large seam of it through them. There are also quarries within travelling distance where they still 'blast' it out - we had to build the base of our new Garden room from it, to match the house as we are Grade 2 listed! I am always digging up huge chunks of it in the garden, possibly left over from when the house was built in the 1500s, or from long-gone outbuildings.

1500's !!! What a gem you've got there. Fascinating about the stone too. What is Grade 2 listed? Does that have to do with the age of your house?
Nice Lab too !

In Great Britain, any building of 'special historic interest' can be listed - the top listing is grade 1, then 2* then 2. This is great, because we know that our home carries some historic value and if possible, we'd like to find out more about it. For example, we have some plaster work on the wall of one of the bedrooms which has a date,(1515) initials and tudor roses on it with a coat-of-arms. Who did it and why, we don 't know! However, being listed carries responsibilities as well. We have the heritage to care for, and we are bound up by rules and regulations - we have to get permission for anything to do with the building. People who take on grade 1 listed buildings have an impossible time should they want to alter anything! Basically, they can't! We had forms galore and site visits from Conservation Officers to approve every detail of our Garden room - it took months - but we were allowed to have it, with provisos e.g. reclaimed tiles for the roof the same as the ones on the house! We love our house and just cope with the bureaucracy. We did know before we bought it! So now you know....well, you did ask! P.S. Yes, he is a nice Lab - Henry - he's 3 and a wonderful dog.

I love old stone walling. Wish I had some where to build one in my garden. It sets off the planting perfectly.

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday dear Henry
Happy birthday to you. xxx

Woof! Woof!! :-))))))))))

:o)