#nike book 1 haven

[freshthoughts2020]

[nosamyrag]

[casspurrjoybell-20]

FOOLS - Chapter 51 - Part 1

BOOK ONE: The 'Fools Fall in Love' Trilogy

*Warning Adult Content*

Samuel Moretti

The evening after mine and Noah's break up, I decided to text Noah.

'I did try calling him but he didn't answer. Go figure'.

I felt I would be able to talk to him without sobbing and pleading for him to stay, plus if Noah actually responded to my text and meets up with me, maybe I wouldn't have to plead.

To: Noah Wright Meat-head😌❤️ [Hey.] From Samuel Moretti [Today 4:20 PM]

'Hey? That was so stupid, Sam.'

He wasn't going to respond to that.

Yet, I still waited for him to reply as I pathetically watched my cell-phone.

A minute later, text bubbles popped up and stayed there for a solid twenty seconds before disappearing.

Come on, Noah, please.

To: Noah Wright Meat-head😌❤️ [Can we meet up somewhere and talk? You owe me that much.] From Samuel Moretti [Today 4:25 PM]

The text bubbles popped up again.

Freaken' text me back, I know you're reading my messages

To: Samuel Moretti [Where?] From: Noah Wright [Today 4:35 PM]

My heart fluttered and I tried not to smile.

To: Noah Wright Meat-head😌❤️ [The park? By my house?] From Samuel Moretti [Today 4:36 PM]

To: Samuel Moretti [Sure. When?] From: Noah Wright [Today 4:37 PM]

I glanced at the time: 4:26.

To: Noah Wright Meat-head😌❤️ [Wanna meet up at 5?] From Samuel Moretti [Today 4:38 PM]

To: Samuel Moretti [Okay.] From: Noah Wright [Today 4:39 PM]

I smiled feeling hopeful yet nervous.

Also anxiously excited but happy at the same time.

Basically, a lot of emotions were running through me.

Quickly brushing my teeth, changing into my pink crewneck 'Noah had told me once that the pink one was his favorite' but it was January in Illinois, so I added my thick jean jacket and a beanie that matched my sweater.

I used Haven's lotion perfume.

Haven and I haven't spoken since last night but I wasn't ready to forgive her.

Maybe tomorrow, was my thought.

I got to the park in my neighborhood around four-forty.

Luckily no one was there, so I took a seat on the stairs that led up to the red slide.

This would be good.

Noah would tell me he was just angry and made a mistake.

We'd forget any of that ever happened and we'd be together again.

Five minutes later, Noah arrived.

"You're early," he commented, walking up to me.

He wore a black Nike hoodie under a heavy, flannel coat.

Yet, he was still wearing ripped jeans considering the ten degree weather.

"So are you," I replied.

"Touché," he chuckled as he sat next to me but kept his distance.

"It's freezing, can we talk in your car?" he asked then explained that,

"The heat in my car is broken."

"Sure," I agreed because it was freezing and being in a closed space with tinted windows with Noah?

Both of us trying to get warm?

I had to bite my bottom lip to keep me from smiling as he followed me to Patricia which was parked next to a curb but when we sat in my car with my heat cranked, we sat in silence.

An awkwardly uncomfortable and horrible silence and how Noah broke the silence was worse than the silence itself.

"How are you?" he asked and finally looked at me for the first time since we got in my car.

My God, I wanted to throw up from that sentence.

How am I?

That was how he wanted to start off our conversation?

"Well, saying 'I'm good' would be a lie, so..."

"I'm sorry," Noah said.

"The way we ended things..."

"You ended things," I corrected him.

I was trying to fix things between us, not end things.

"The way I ended things was really shitty. You didn't deserve that. So... I'm sorry, Sam," and he truly did look regretful.

"Okay," I nodded.

"Thank you for saying that. I'm willing to forget this and we can get back together."

Noah sighed.

"I know that I was in a bad mood when I broke up with you but I was serious about breaking up."

My heart clenched and my eyes burned with the need to cry.

Noah grabbed my hands.

I looked into his eyes, they looked just as pained and worn out as mine.

Had he been crying?

Had this break up affected him like it affected me?

Is his heart shattered like mine?

A few tears involuntarily slipped down my cheek but I quickly wiped them away before putting my hands back in his.

"Sam, you deserve so much better. Someone who you won't have to worry about. Someone who's family adores and accepts you. Someone who isn't as fucked up as me," I slipped my hand out of his grasp, confused on where he's going with this.

"I wish I could make you happy..."

"Are you an idiot?" I asked getting mad.

"I was happy with you."

"You'd be better off without me."

I shook my head, not accepting what he's telling me.

I thought this talk would bring us back together, not further apart.

"That being said..." Noah continued, taking a deep breath.

"I think we should stop seeing and talking to each other."

I scoffed and wiped my eyes as my tears released.

"So we're just gonna ignore each other?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I'm not saying that. Just for now I feel like it'll be better to keep our distance," he spoke calmly which honestly made me more frustrated.

I actually wanted Noah to get angry and fight with me.

I wanted to fight for him.

"How long is 'for now' gonna last?"

"I don't know but I think it'll be easier that way to get over..." Noah stopped himself but I knew what he was going to say.

"Get over me?" I looked away so he wouldn't catch me crying.

I hastily wiped my eyes again.

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Sam, please don't make this harder than it already is," his begging tone pissing me off more. I looked back at him in dismay.

"I'm sorry that I'm making this harder for you but when someone I love tells me we should stop talking to each other so they can 'get over me' I get upset," I yelled, my breathing was heavy.

I wanted to crawl up into a ball and die.

"That came out wrong. I meant that I need time to figure myself out."

"And you can't do that with me around?"

Noah opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off,

"I don't get it, do you... not love me anymore?"

I wasn't sure I wanted to hear that answer.

"Of course I love you, Sam. I always will but for now..."

"Stop saying 'for now' Fuck."

Noah sighed and dragged his hands down his face as if he was exhausted before looking back at me.

"I don't know what to do, Sam."

'Good. Yell. I wanted him yell with me.'

"Besides Nate, my dad is the only family I have. It was my fault that my mom left and I don't want it to be my fault for my dad leaving..."

My heart sank for him and everything made sense, Noah thought he deserved the beatings because he believed it was his fault for his mother's absence.

I wanted nothing more in that moment than to wrap my arms around him and hug him tightly.

"Noah, your mom leaving was not your fault."

He looked away and didn't respond.

I knew he didn't believe me.

"I don't know if you think you deserve getting abused like it's your punishment for making your mom leave but you don't. You don't deserve to get abused, Noah. Her leaving was her crappy choice."

Noah sniffed and unlocked the car door.

"I should go."

"So that's it? We're just done?"

"Sam..."

"Fine," I cut him off.

"If you need space to figure yourself out, I'll give you space."

If that was what he needed to realize he was better with me, then I'd give him that time and in a week or two, we'd be back together and everything would be right between us again.

It would all work out.

[sneakerscartel]

Nike Book 1 “Haven” Releasing April 2024

[stacksandkicks]

KICKS:NEW NIKE #BOOK1 "HAVEN" KICKS

Prepare to pay homage to Devin Booker’s beloved Cane Corso with the release of the Book 1 “HAVEN” themed kicks, dropping on April 6th for $140.00. These sneakers are a tribute to Booker’s cherished companion, featuring a unique design that reflects the bond between man and dog. With premium materials and attention to detail, the Book 1 “HAVEN” promises to be a standout addition to any sneaker…

[petnews2day]

Devin Booker’s Dog Was the Inspiration for Nike Book 1 ‘Haven’

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/mj6aB

Devin Booker’s Dog Was the Inspiration for Nike Book 1 ‘Haven’

(Photo Credit: Patrick McDermott / Contributor | Getty Images Sport via Getty Images) NBA sensation Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns reveals his softer side as a dedicated pet parent. Through his latest Nike Book 1 sneakers, Devin Booker pays homage to his beloved pet dogHaven. This acts as a testament to the bond they […]

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[knobleteesa]

How To Become Air Force Fighter Pilot

This is true to the work's refusal to paint any character as a villain, yet also can undercut the dramatic need for Caesar's power grab to be so outrageous that assassination seems the only option left to the conspirators. State capacity is decaying. "This is why I love this family," another added.made a TikTok mimicking the reality TV moment. Please give me some help on this! Scared to DeathDear Scared to Death: Discounting your feelings is not fair to you. He's gonna score. 30, nearly a month before Trump tweeted Coach Bags Outlet that "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA" and a full New Nike Air Force 1 43 days before he declared a national emergency in the United States. Should be exercised when considering this option. But till now I haven found a proper and effective solution yet. There was no official acknowledgment of the cases, and nurses who shared phone headsets, computer keyboards and a tiny break room were not tested, according to interviews and correspondence reviewed by The Times.. I once wrote a thesis proclaiming that if you take the alcohol out of "Ulysses," then James Joyce wouldn't have had a book.. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.. This eventually became the Hapa Project, a collection of the words and images of more than 1,500 volunteer subjects from across the country, most with Yeezy Discount partial roots in Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry. This is an extremely bad idea for some many obvious reasons..

[angeltriestoblog]

HK Cultural Centre, Victoria Peak and Mongkok: Hong Kong 2018, Part 1

Hello friends, and welcome to my first of two posts about my recent trip to Hong Kong! I’ve been excited about this for quite a long time, because our family apparently frequented the territory when I was much younger: in fact, my first trip was when I was still in my mother’s womb. We’d go back a couple of times after that, once or a twice a year until the SARS virus eventually broke out in February of 2003. Since I was a toddler at the time, I don’t remember anything about my previous trips and was definitely not involved in planning out the itinerary. I’d simply rely on the stories my parents would share fondly over meals, or pictures hidden in our family albums or plastered on souvenir plates.

This time around, we spent three days in the area, and kickstarted our vacation by waking up ridiculously early on Saturday, December 22nd to make it to the airport three hours before our 6:30 flight. I didn’t even have time to sleep, because we only had two hours until we reached our destination so I kept myself busy with Cathay Pacific’s quality music selection. Props to them for including most of Wanna One’s discography, as well as Harry Styles�� self-titled and After Laughter, my favorite Western albums.

Upon our arrival, we caught the airport bus, took a one hour trip before getting off at Middle Road station then walked down Nathan Road to find the place that we had booked for the trip. I had mapped out the entire day ahead of us and was excited to get to it, the first order of business fortunately being located at the end of the street we were staying on. The Hong Kong Cultural Centre is known as a multipurpose performance facility, complete with auditoriums, a gallery and several rehearsal and practice rooms for all the concerts, theatre and musical productions, exhibitions, screenings and conventions being held there.

As you can see from the pictures, the architecture is also to die for, as one pink-tiled column after another leads to a majestic view of Victoria Harbour: the perfect balance of the serene blue sea and the busy city skyline. It was incredibly sunny that day, and festive too, as there was a concert happening in the plaza area.

But, it might be known to most of you (assuming that you are my age) because it has served as a shooting location for K-Pop music videos, including You Are by GOT7. This one member named Bambam, who just so happens to be my bias, had his solo parts shot in this particular area, so I had to do my duties and have pictures taken in the exact same place. And yes, I’m aware I’m facing the opposite side, but this is my angle and we just have to deal with it.

Once we had wrapped things up, we headed to Central Station and took Exit K to meet up with the guys from Klook, who were going to help us get to our next stop. I think it’s safe to say that no visit to Hong Kong would be complete without experiencing Victoria Peak: besides boasting an incredible bird’s eye view of the city below, it also houses premiere shopping and dining destinations, and tourist attractions like the Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum and their own play on Trick Eye Museum, but with free entrance. Getting there was no easy feat, though: even with the fast passes that we had purchased online, the line for the tram took about two hours because it was not just holiday season, but also peak hours since most people would argue that the view from the top is best enjoyed from the late afternoon onwards. When it was finally our turn to get on, it was fully packed and seats ran out pretty quickly, which meant we had to stand for the entire ride up… which was 1.4km (about seven to eight minutes) long, and quite steep. Kind of felt like my soul was being sucked out of my body with a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner.

But, of course, the ordeal we had to go through to get there was well worth it. We had a great meal at this restaurant called Wildfire, and feasted our eyes on the one-of-a-kind view of the city: I don’t know how long I spent on the terrace, just admiring the sight before me, even if the temperature made me feel like a slab of meat stored in a freezer.

The next day, we set out to explore the shopping center just within walking distance: iSQUARE. Standing at 31 floors tall, the entertainment and shopping complex is home to a seemingly endless collection of fashion and lifestyle brands as well as both fine and casual dining restaurants. As expected of me, I was most excited about going to HMV, which sold albums as far as the eye could see. But, I had no idea I had missed it by just a couple of days and was met with a liquidation notice stuck to the glass doors. I also went to Logon, which was like your local Daiso but with a wider variety of more aesthetically pleasing items to choose from. Unfortunately, they were on the more pricey side: I was initially planning on buying Christmas gifts for friends here, but I realized that if I did that, I’d end up blowing all my pocket money in one go. (I took more mirror selfies than pictures of the products being sold, I know. But, my outfit was cute ok)

We then took the MTR to Mongkok with the intention of paying Sneakers Street a visit, because I was determined to find black high-cut Vans (or just any pair of black rubber shoes) at a cheaper price. But, we kept getting sidetracked by several stores around the area, turning left when we were supposed to be going right, and we eventually did not find it. Although, we did stumble upon T.O.P Shopping Centre, which had several Korean, Japanese and local lifestyle brands that catered both to the youth and young-at-heart.

I also found this other store with brands like Stylenanda, 3CE, AAPE, Nike, Adidas, Vans and Reebok but I didn’t get to take note of the name. All I have are videos of me walking around the place like I’m in a YouTube video set at 1.5x speed. In fairness to me, people in Hong Kong really do like walking fast.

Since my try at HMV was a failure, I gave my blockmate Bea’s advice a shot and looked for Sino Centre. I mistook it for another building because I’m admittedly not the best with directions, and the guard was kind enough to leave his post for a few minutes and point out the place I was looking for. Although it is more well known by the Internet for being a haven for anime and manga lovers, the second floor was practically a treasure trove of stores selling K-Pop albums and official merchandise. I went for the first one I saw though, because I honestly wasn’t in the mood to wade through a sea of people and compare prices at every single store. I ended up buying Nothing Without You for myself instead of Power of Destiny (because my album is still in transit and about to be shipped to my best friend, Solf’s place), and something else for a friend which I can’t disclose at the moment because I haven’t given it to her. In case any fellow Wannables are interested, I got a Baejin mini standee and a Woojin lenticular photo card, by the way. Also, I hope you are all coping well with disbandment.

Tune in (wow) to my next post, where I’ll be rambling about our last day in the city and giving some tips in case you’re planning on dropping by as well. Wishing you nothing but love and light!

Angel

[livingcorner]

How to Create a Beautiful Garden in a Small Urban Space

Helen has been an online writer for over six years. She is a Cardiff-based artist who loves gardens and all things botanical.

Helen Lush

You're reading: How to Create a Beautiful Garden in a Small Urban Space

A Beautiful Garden Sanctuary in a Small Urban Space

You may think that enjoying a meal and a glass of wine in dappled sunlight surrounded by birdsong and scented flowers is a luxury, but the smallest city space can be transformed into a green idyll and there is room for a small tree in the tiniest garden.

Plants are particularly important in our densely populated urban areas. They soften the hard lines of city landscapes and lift people’s spirits with their living colour, scent and movement.

Planting hedges, shrubs and trees helps cut down noise from traffic (and neighbours!) and also attracts all sorts of birds and insects that are otherwise struggling to find habitats.

This article will guide you through a multitude of advice regarding the creation of a garden. Here are some of the topics that are covered:

Practical considerations

Garden ponds

Design elements

Garden layout

Choosing your plants

Transform your urban space into a green and peaceful garden sanctuary…

Photograph by Helen Lush

Purple and lavender bed in July. Photograph by Helen Lush

How I Started Gardening

My interest in gardening became an obsession after my partner and I bought a terraced house in Cardiff 20 years ago with a south-facing garden.

The main area was tiny—about 14 ft wide by 30 ft long, bounded by 5 ft high stone and brick walls with uneven ground and a fine crop of weeds. The space has gradually been transformed and is now a leafy and private paradise with a wildlife pond and a small dining area.

The garden is a source of inspiration for my paintings as well as a sanctuary and a playground for our cat! I love to sit out there with a book and the scent of the flowers and enjoy the last rays of evening sunshine.

Using my own experience I have set out some ideas, guidelines and tips on creating your own garden haven.

Purple Clematis “Warsaw Nike” flowers in July. Photograph by Helen Lush

How to Create Your Beautiful Small Garden (4 Tips)

First of all, you need to decide what you want your garden to be. Here are a few questions to consider.

Do you want a peaceful place to relax after a day’s work, a wildlife haven, a place to entertain friends and family or all the above?

Do you like hands-on gardening or would you prefer it to be low maintenance?

Do you need to consider the needs of children, pets or the disabled?

All these things will have an impact on how you design your garden.

1. Practical Considerations

Boundaries: Are they adequate, or do they need renewing? It’s a good idea to consider this at the start of your project.

Privacy: Do you need to add height to prevent being overlooked.

Bad views: Do you need to mask unsightly views?

Noise pollution: A hedge will help cut down noise levels. Background noise can be disguised with the sound of trickling or bubbling water from a water feature.

Access: To gates, sheds and bins, etc.

Soil type: Is your soil sandy or clay or something in between? This will dictate which plants do well.

Soil pH: You can buy a cheap soil test kit from any garden centre—this will also help you to choose the right plants.

Direction: Are you sun-drenched or in shade for much of the day. Make a sketch of where the shadows fall to help you decide where to put seating and dining areas.

Storage space: Do you need somewhere for your compost bin, water butt, refuse bins, greenhouse or shed?

Views of the garden from your windows: Consider what you will be looking out upon from inside the house.

Flooding: If any areas suffer from this, you could consider digging down to find out what is causing it and add a soak-away or other type of drainage.

Water Iris. Photograph by Helen Lush.

We Decided a Garden Pond Worked for Our Space

When thinking about what to do with our small space, we wanted to attract wildlife and decided to put in a pond. Having dug down to make a hole big enough to install a moulded fibreglass kidney-shaped pond we found a WW2 air-raid shelter which took some work to dig out!

Having removed most of the bricks and corrugated iron we put down a thick layer of sand to cushion the fibreglass and made sure the pond was level before filling it with water. Pieces of granite found in the garden were cemented around the pond to hide the edge.

After a few days, the water had settled and we added oxygenating plants, a dwarf water lily and a couple of irises. Wildlife will soon start to colonise your pond and birds will be attracted to drink and bathe.

If you know someone with an established pond you could ask for a small bucket of water in order to introduce pond life more speedily, but make sure you don’t introduce anything you might regret later.

It’s a good idea to provide something—sticks or stones—to help non-aquatic creatures to climb out if they fall in!

Iris Kaempferi

The garden design by Helen Lush

2. Design Elements

Formal or informal: Hard edges or flowing lines. Formal designs look great if you want a contemporary look, are growing vegetables in raised beds or want to use clipped box edges around flower beds.

Garden furniture: For relaxing or dining. Consider whether to build some seating into the plan using seat-height walls to contain flower beds with scented plants.

Edible plants: Fruit, vegetables and herbs in beds or containers. Herbs in pots and window boxes look great, while thymes and camomile can be planted in paving. A potager combines edible and decorative plants to great effect. A fruit tree will add height, attract wildlife, and make a great feature.

Water: Wildlife pond, formal pool, spout or bubbling rock . . . there are many features available to suit all tastes. Water can add sound which may serve to mask other noise or provide a soothing atmosphere.

Pergolas, arbours, arches: To add privacy, more seating, height and interest with climbing plants.

Lighting: Do you want spotlights or LEDs or solar-powered lamps—may be something to consider before laying paving . . .

Art: Placing sculpture or art in key places creates a focus, draws the eye and can add interest to an otherwise featureless spot. Clever use of mirrors can create the illusion of space. Looking for that perfect piece of art can be fun too.

Campanula growing in the wall. Photograph by Helen Lush

3. Designing Your Garden

Once you have decided what elements to include in your garden, and taken all the practical considerations into account, you can sketch out where you want your beds, paths and hard surfaces.

If you can, mark out these areas with a length of hose or sand in a bottle. If you are planning a seating or dining area make sure there is enough room for the garden furniture. Consider adding verticals such as arches or small trees, where

In a small space, you need to make the most of every available surface. Think about planting walls with plants such as saxifraga and campanula. Primroses have naturalised everywhere in the garden providing lovely scent and colour in April.

If a plant really likes your garden (and you like the plant!) go with the flow.

In May purple pillows of Campanula grace the stone walls.

4. Choosing Beautiful Plants for Your Small Garden

My garden is on the coast of South Wales in the UK—an area with fairly mild winters and wet summers. Choose plants that are suitable for your particular climate, as well as taking sun, shade, water, wind and dry soil into consideration and you will be rewarded.

A lot of plants will tolerate any sort of soil but some are more demanding and in order to avoid disappointment it is best to do a soil test to gauge acidity and work out whether you have sandy, gritty, chalky soil which is free-draining or heavier clay soil which can be prone to water-logging.

Whatever you have, there will be plants that love those conditions, although areas of deep shade can be challenging. If the soil is very poor you might want to improve it by adding organic matter or topsoil. We have clay soil which can get water-logged but on the other hand retains a lot of plant nutrition which can get leached away in sandy, gritty soil.

Use evergreens and trees as the bones of your design to give a permanent structure around which you can add your flowering perennials, bulbs, grasses and ground cover.

Those of you who want a low-maintenance garden could choose slow-growing shrubs and evergreen plants rather than perennials that need cutting back and dividing regularly, or roses that need regular pruning, feeding and dead-heading.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Your Plants

Evergreen plants add structure and interest all year round

Seasonal interest from flowers, foliage, bark and berries

Plants in containers can be used to fill areas with colour when needed and removed when not flowering. Window boxes and hanging baskets allow more colourful planting areas at height.

Texture: Varying the types of foliage makes for textural interest.

Scent: Use scented plants around a seating area and near the house.

Wildlife: By using plants such as lavender, scabious and echinacea and avoiding some of the fancy “double” flowers you will attract more butterflies, bees and other pollinators. If you leave an area untouched, (behind the pond in our garden), it will give insects and amphibians their own little sanctuary.

Fruit and vegetables: From herbs in pots or paving to a specimen fruit tree or growing peas and beans on a wigwam, there are many options. The latter is great for children to try out their green fingers on.

Trees: However tiny the space I believe there is always room for a small tree—perhaps a native tree—to add height, privacy, interest from bark, foliage, fruit or flowers, and a habitat for birds and insects.

Sorbus vilmorinii underplanted with roses, lavender and Ice plant. Photograph by author.

Plants Used in My South-Facing Garden

Here is a list of some of the key plants I have used in my garden, pictured here:

Evergreen

Pittosporum tenuissifolia “Irene Paterson”

Olea europea “European Olive”

Hebe “Pascal”

Ilex “Silver King”

Clematis armandii “Snowdrift”

Buxus sempervirens “Common box”

Viburnum davidii “David Viburnum”

Camellia “Single red”

Mahonia x media “Winter Sun”

Cafe au Lait dahlias

Sub-shrubs

Lavandula angustifolia “English lavender”

Lavandula angustifolia “Hidcote lavender”

Perennials

Heuchera “Palace Purple”, “Rio”, “Pewter Moon” and “Marmalade”

Athyrium niponicum pictum “Japanese Painted Fern”

Lysimachia ciliata “Firecracker”

Lobelia “Hadspen Purple”

Ophiopogon planiscapus “Nigrescens” (Black Lilyturf)

Festuca glauca “Blue Fescue”

Anemone “Honorine Jobert”

Sedum spectabile “Showy Stonecrop”

Iris��various, including Kaempferi and laevigata “Variegata” in pond.

Agapanthus “Lily of the Nile”

Dahlia “Nuit D’ete”

Rosa “Cardinal de Richelieu”

Rosa “Radio Times”

Climbers

Lonicera peryclimenum “Serotina” (honeysuckle)

Akebia quinata “Chocolate Vine”

Clematis: Niobe, Eriostemon and H.F Young

Rosa “Iceberg”

Bulbs

Lilies—various, including Regale

Tulips—various, including “Queen of the Night”, “Ballerina” and Bleu Aimable

Narcissus “Mount Hood”

Crocus—various

Allium atropurpureum and “Globemaster”

Final Thoughts on Creating the Right Garden for You

Gardens are continually changing—that is part of their beauty. When you step out into your garden there will always be something new to marvel at. Some plants outgrow their space and some die because they are short-lived or not happy—I always see this as an opportunity to search for just the right plant to replace it!

There is something so rewarding about making a garden and enjoying the fruits of your labour. Have fun creating your own private paradise and watching it evolve.

Flowering in June 2013. Photograph by Helen Lush

Read more: Annual vs Perennial – What is the Difference? – Garden Design

Related Articles

Art in the Garden How to use sculpture to best effect in the garden

How to Make a Simple Pebble Mosaic Describing the materials and methods used to design and make a simple pebble mosaic for your garden.

Articles by Other Authors

How to Make a Garden on a Budget – Top Money Saving Tips Top tips for making a garden on a budget. Including tips on landscaping,composting,growing seed and taking cuttings.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Comments

Isla Fanning on January 21, 2020:

Wow, really beautiful garden

Louise89 on August 05, 2019:

Really great information, thank you!

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on July 04, 2013:

Thank you Garlic Angel and Devisree – your comments are appreciated

devisree from India on July 04, 2013:

A well written Hub with attractive and informative photos. I love gardening . Through your hub I got a lot of ideas. Thanks for sharing.

Christine from Dublin on June 28, 2013:

Beautiful photographs DaffodilSky and a well written hub. Thanks for sharing. Voted up and pinned

Garlic Angel

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on June 21, 2013:

Hi Dannie – that does sound like a challenge! It is always a good idea to look at the native plants of your locality and have a look at what plants are thriving in other gardens in your area. I notice there is a Colorado Native Plant Society website, which might be helpful. As your house casts some shade on the garden, you may be able to get away with some less “suitable” planting. It would all depend on the type of soil you have too. I hope this helps

Danielle Schumaker from Boulder, CO on June 18, 2013:

I live in the high desert of Colorado. In the summer, temperatures typically vary from 55 degrees F (13 C) at night to 90 degrees F (32 C) at the hottest time of the day. Sometimes we get an afternoon shower but it is always short-lived; dryness is the primary characteristic of this climate. Our first snow will probably hit in September, the last in May. My house blocks some of the sun to my outdoor space. What would you recommend for plants? Is there anything that wouldn’t die come September?

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on June 17, 2013:

Thank you Danni. I think that, no matter how small the area, you will be rewarded by adding plants – and a couple of larger specimen plants can look better than lots of smaller ones. Even a small tree ( in a container if necessary) can transform the space. Or you could consider vertical planting – use your walls to suspend planting pockets – there are plenty of products on the market nowadays. Have fun!

Danielle Schumaker from Boulder, CO on June 16, 2013:

This is such a lovely Hub. I was drawn to it because I’m torn on my own underwhelming outdoor space, which would require so much work for such a small area that I’m torn on whether to do anything at all. Thanks for pushing me in a creative direction.

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on June 14, 2013:

Thank you very much SpaceShanty and welcome to Hubpages!

SpaceShanty from United Kingdom on June 14, 2013:

Amazing Hub!

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on June 14, 2013:

Thank you – much appreciated:)

Writer Fox from the wadi near the little river on June 14, 2013:

Very well done. Your photos add so much to this.

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on May 04, 2013:

You are welcome Kevin – and thanks for your lovely comments

Kevin Peter from Global Citizen on May 03, 2013:

A well arranged and beautiful hub. I have only a small space in front of my house and hence never thought of preparing a garden before. Thanks a lot for the useful information included in the hub.

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on April 30, 2013:

Thanks Thelma and Mylinda- it’s good to have your input. Glad you enjoyed the article:-)

Thelma Alberts from Germany on April 30, 2013:

Wow! I have missed this. Congrats for the HOTD award! This is a very informative, engaging and useful hub. I like this. Voted up and more. Thanks for sharing;-)

mylindaelliott from Louisiana on April 29, 2013:

What a lovely little space. I love to decorate small spaces.

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on April 24, 2013:

Thanks for all your lovely comments, and thanks to those that voted for this for a Rising Star – it won !! So pleased!:)

Arizona’s Restoration Experts, LLC on April 23, 2013:

Enjoyed your hub very much. Good information and ideas no matter where in the world you live. Thank you for helping to encourage others to find and embrace the beauty in a not so nice world.

Anne from Spain on April 23, 2013:

Hi Daffodilsky. I already voted for you. Many thanks for the link, good luck with the award, and i´m pleased you are able to enjoy your beautiful garden at long last. All my family and lots of friends are in the UK so I know how bad the winter has been. We had a wonderful time until about new years eve here in Spain, unseasonably warm, but then we had gale force winds almost daily until now, and I do mean gale force, it was really wearing for months on end.

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on April 23, 2013:

Thanks so much everyone for all your great and positive comments. Bac2basics I have just visited one of your hubs on a similar subject and will be happy to link up with it! The weather over here in UK has cheered up at last and I am going to be enjoying the garden while it lasts!

Today is the last chance to vote for this hub as a Rising Star if you want to… https://ift.tt/38sdUod Thanks

Gabriela Hdez from Valencia, Spain on April 22, 2013:

I loved your hub! It answered a lot of questions I had and some that I hadn’t thought yet. I love the way your garden seems to have space for everything. You designed an area for wildlife, another for flowers, dining, there’s even space for insects!

And congratulation on the HOTD!

RTalloni on April 22, 2013:

Lovely hub that is a superb guide for creating a small space garden that can be enjoyed through its evolutions. Congrats on your Hub of the Day award for a beautiful post!

Yvette Stupart PhD from Jamaica on April 22, 2013:

Congratulations!

Very beautiful, and its great that you included an outline of the design elements.

Rebecca O’Reilly from California on April 22, 2013:

Great ideas and fabulous hub! I noticed you using a flower pot for an umbrella stand–great idea. I am going to try it. We live in limited space with not much of a backyard. I recently planted potted herbs, tomatoes and some flowers. Added a water fountain and suddenly an oasis.

Voted up and useful.

Stephanie Bradberry from New Jersey on April 22, 2013:

Congratulations on your Hub of the Day.

In my area, there is a part of the main city that has a garden tour. Since all the yards are really small and located in the back of each residence, it is interesting to see what they create with their space. One of the most interesting yards has a trellised apricot tree growing on the back fence.

Better Yourself from North Carolina on April 22, 2013:

Nicely done! Your garden is beautiful and all of your tips, advice and info are great and very helpful! Congrats on hub of the day!

Kathy Sima from Ontario, Canada on April 22, 2013:

What a beautiful and useful hub! I enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading more of your hubs. Congratulations on the well-deserved Hub of the Day!

vandynegl from Ohio Valley on April 22, 2013:

These are great ideas! Thank you! I like that you offer ideas for different needs, such as noise pollution, privacy, and bad views! I had all of these at my old house and wanted to build a 20 foot wall around my house!

Anne from Spain on April 22, 2013:

Hi Daffodilsky, my vote is in and my fingers crossed. Maybe you could find the time to check out some of my hubs and maybe you would like to link too, just a thought.

Kathryn from Windsor, Connecticut on April 22, 2013:

This is beautiful! I love the idea of making a garden, even in small spaces, and you set out plenty of information for planning a garden escape. It looks like you put a lot of work into this article, and the photos are beautiful! Congrats on HOTD- I can see why you won it!

SuperiorInteriors from San Diego, California on April 22, 2013:

Such a perfect Hub for Earth Day! Loved the info you’ve presented here and those pictures are just lovely. Thanks for sharing!

Read more: How to Put Lime on Your Vegetable Garden

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on April 22, 2013:

Thanks! Your comments are much appreciated. Thanks for the Rising Star vote too sflorsch

MelonieGilchrist on April 22, 2013:

This is an amazing article full of useful information. I don’t think it even leaves room for questions about gardening with limited space! Congrats on HOTD! I look forward to reading more of your hubs!

sflorsch from Fort Worth, TX on April 22, 2013:

Beautiful! My vote has been cast for the Rising Star Award.

Subhas from New Delhi, India on April 22, 2013:

I think I am going to change the whole setup of my plants and herbs after going through this hub. You treated the subject thoroughly.

Robyn D Bera from California on April 22, 2013:

Beautiful hub and congratulations. I am just diving into the gardening world and about a year ago it became an obsession for me too. This is so inspiring! We are well into spring here in Northing California. Thanks for sharing!

Toy Tasting from Mumbai on April 22, 2013:

Hey DaffodilSky, this is a wonderful Hub. I could not take my eyes of the beautiful pictures here. Congratulations on HOTD, truly well deserved! Cheers

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on April 22, 2013:

Thank you so much everyone – I’m overwhelmed! I hope you haven’t been put off trying out another tree Mary615 – there are some lovely small trees out there that don’t get too big and don’t mind being underplanted. Thank you bac2basics for putting a link on your hubs. This hub has been put forward for a Rising Star award, so if you would like to vote for it, it would be much appreciated! https://ift.tt/38sdUod

Comfort Babatola from Bonaire, GA, USA on April 22, 2013:

Lovely images, great hub! Congrats on the HOTD award. Well deserved.

Sally Gulbrandsen from Norfolk on April 22, 2013:

Well done on your HOTD award. Great Hub with some interesting ideas. Thanks for sharing.

Stephanie Henkel from USA on April 22, 2013:

You definitely deserved the HOTD award for this lovely hub! Your tiny garden is a gem. It’s probably taken years for it to reach that level of maturity, but what a great example of what can be done in a small space! I love flowers, and try to plant them so that there is always something blooming, especially around the patio which can be viewed from our kitchen and dining table. You’ve given me some great ideas of plants to add that will enhance my space. Voted up and shared!

Anne from Spain on April 22, 2013:

Hi Daffodilsky.

What a fantastic hub and well worth winning HOTD.

I am living in Spain just now and have a huge garden which I created myself around the swimming pool but am soon to return to the UK and a downsize. I am planning more of a courtyard garden when I return and if it turns out even half as beautiful as yours I will be very happy indeed. I am going to link this hub to all of mine on gardening, hope that´s Ok, will also share and have voted up to the heavens too, it really is superb. You have also earned another follower.

Angelo52 on April 22, 2013:

Great article! It has given me a lot of ideas for enhancing the garden in the small space around my home. Thumbs up and shared.

Mary Hyatt from Florida on April 22, 2013:

This is a garden to die for!! Congrats on HOTD. I have a small garden and have tried to incorporate some of your ideas. I have a small water fountain and patio area but nothing like yours.

I have made the mistake of planting a tree that grew higher than I expected and the roots became invasive, so I had to have it removed.

Voted UP, and will share and Pin.

Ameliam Michelle from London, England on April 22, 2013:

Loved reading your hub..

lot of information.. good job.

Patricia Scott from North Central Florida on April 22, 2013:

Isn’t it nice to know that a sweet garden can be yours even if space is limited?? Thanks for sharing your tips with us. This reminds me of the little garden my Aunt had years ago. The walk down memory lane was welcome.

Sending Angels to you this morning and congrats on HOTD.

ps

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on April 22, 2013:

Thank you cat on a soapbox, CZCZCZ, and Klavdija – your comments are much appreciated and I am delighted you like some of my ideas. Klavdija, I am sure you will one day have an outside space to enjoy and it will be well worth waiting for!

Klavdija Frahm on April 22, 2013:

Great hub, voted up. I love gardening – vegtable and decorative garden. Currently I live in apartment and all I have is some plants (orchids). I miss the garden we had back at home (when I was still living with my parents). I hope that in my future I will be able to have my own garden.

CZCZCZ from Oregon on April 22, 2013:

I loved your ideas. We have a few small areas around the house that would be perfect for trying a couple things you mention. Thanks for sharing these gardening tips for small spaces.

Catherine Tally from Los Angeles on April 22, 2013:

A wonderful hub from start to finish! I loved the personal accounts of your space transformation , the great selection suggestions, and the lovely photographs of your garden. Congratulations on earning this very well-deserved “Hub of the Day.”

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on April 18, 2013:

Thank you flourishanyway! I don’t mean to make it look too simple as gardening is one subject where everyone has their own way of doing it and even when you are doing it right things can go horribly wrong! The thing is once you’ve got the bug it’s so rewarding

FlourishAnyway from USA on April 18, 2013:

What a wonderfully written hub with excellent photos. You make it seem so simple.

Helen Lush (author) from Cardiff, Wales, UK on March 28, 2013:

Thanks all for your lovely comments. Here in Wales the problem tends to be too much water! There are some lovely plants available that tolerate drought that might make your life easier sgbrown. Happy gardening!

Sheila Brown from Southern Oklahoma on March 28, 2013:

We have a huge yard and I have incorporated more flower beds than I can keep up with. It gets very hot here in southern Oklahoma and I have had to cut down on some of my flower beds as I can’t keep them watered well enough. (We are on well water only, I can run the well dry!) I love some of the plants I have seen here and plan on going shopping for many of them. I love this hub! Voting up and more!

Deborah Neyens from Iowa on March 28, 2013:

What a lovely garden space you have, and a great list of considerations for someone who wants to design their own space. Very well done hub!

Paul Edmondson from Burlingame, CA on March 27, 2013:

Wow. I loved your hub. Very cool. We have a good sized backyard, but the only place that gets sun is on the deck. We are trying to figure out how to get a garden on it.

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/how-to-create-a-beautiful-garden-in-a-small-urban-space-2/

[freshthoughts2020]

[casspurrjoybell-20]

Fools - Chapter 1 - Part 1

BOOK ONE: The 'Fools Fall in Love' Trilogy

*Warning - Adult Content*

Samuel Moretti

"Mom. Where'd you put my backpack?"

Here's the thing about moving to a new town, you don't remember which box you put your things in.

'Should I have labeled the boxes? Probably but did I? No.'

So, when you have five minutes until you have to leave to go to school, a brand new school and have a nagging older sister yelling at you to 'get your gay ass in the car' and you have absolutely no clue where your book bag is, you might stress out.

Like me, I was at the highest level of stress my body has ever obtained when every area in my room had been searched and... STILL NO BACKPACK.

Coming to the conclusion that my backpack is not in my bedroom, I decided to check downstairs.

"Mom," I yelled once more as I made my way into the kitchen.

"What is it?" my mother questions from the kitchen sink, scrubbing away at the dish that once contained last night's casserole.

You'd think for our first night in a new town, my mom would settle for Chinese food delivery or something instead of cooking but no.

She's a firm believer in always having a home cooked meal where everyone sits around the table.

Which, I guess isn't a horrible thing.

"Where's my backpack?" I asked, looking around frantically.

"You mean that purple backpack on the couch right there?" she questioned, pointing her pink manicured nails to the tv room.

My mom is the type of mom that always has to look put together.

Acrylic nails, classic pink or red, makeup done even then at 6:50 a.m. in the morning.

My mother has her no-heat curlers from the night before, still in.

She wouldn't be caught dead with them outside of the house.

Right now, she has her 'cleaning clothes' on which consists of her purple Lulu-lemon-leggings and a matching tank top.

I followed her gaze and sure enough, my backpack was laying on the couch like nobody's business.

Our living room looked like it wasn't just filled with boxes the night before.

With the two couches and La-Z-Boy clutter free, save for some decorative pillow.

All of our family photos evenly hung up on walls.

Our T.V. and entertainment center ready to be used.

My mom must've stayed up late last night to unpack, she's not one to waste any seconds.

"I went to the store last night and bought you and Haven extra pencils," my mom said with a warm, motherly smile.

I sighed, frustrated that she moved it without my knowledge but ultimately grateful for the supplies 'thank you' I grumbled as I walked over to the couch and swung the notorious purple Nike bag over my shoulders.

I turned around only to find my mother standing next to me with open arms.

"Mom," I whined but hugged her anyway.

"I have to go," I murmured into her hair.

She smelled like rosemary essential oil, the one she uses in her humidifier at night.

People always tell me I get my looks from my mom.

Light, thick curly brown hair, intense green eyes, fair skin, small nose.

You name it.

'Thank God' I got my height from my dad, a proud five-foot, nine but like math taught me, I round up but I'm also skinny.

Not like 'wow, he really works out.'

No, like 'have you ever picked up a weight in your life?'

The answer is no, by the way.

"I know, Honey but you can give your mama a hug for fifteen seconds before your first day at a new school. Stop stressing. You'll have a great junior year, meet good friends, get good grades, meet a nice boy."

"Mom," I said pulling away from her, blushing fiercely which made my mom laugh as she walked back into the kitchen.

If there's one thing I love about my mom, it's that she supports me one hundred percent.

Coming out to her wasn't even a question.

I was excited to tell her about the boy I had a crush on in seventh grade.

My dad, on the other hand, I would not discuss my boy crushes with.

I could do without a third 'you can die from AIDS' speech.

All in all, though, he's okay with my sexuality, so that's all that matters.

"You better go before your sister runs back in here, scolding you," my mom warned me as if it wasn't her who kept me from leaving to give her a hug and I sighed.

"Bye mom. Love you."

I kissed her on the cheek.

"Love you too, Honey," I heard her call before I ran out the door.

Haven scolded me for being late but calmed down once I told her I'd buy her caramel iced coffee.

With cream and liquid sugar, of course.

At school, we had about fifteen minutes before first period.

My sister and I parted ways to find our locker then agreed to meet at hers so we could 'people watch' before class.

People watching is our favorite pastime.

My sister and I would go to coffee shops or malls just to watch people and come up with different scenarios about the people we see or to scope out the hot guys.

Luckily, my locker wasn't like the kid's next to mine, a combination that barely worked and when he finally got it open, it creaked like a door that was made in Hell.

Though, I did not appreciate the dirty look he threw me when my locker opened swiftly.

After putting the books I didn't need until after lunch, in my locker, I headed in the direction my sister said her locker was.

Haven's locker wasn't far, down the hall and to the right, leading into the English hallway.

As I was walking up to her, I almost tripped but luckily caught myself.

"Gah, my new shoes keep making me trip," I whined, glaring down at my new Vans.

They were all white and slip-on.

Haven looked down as well then back up at me and shrugged.

"You just have to break them in but I forgot I gotta find Emily real quick before first period," she told me.

"Emily?" I questioned, taking a sip of my caramel iced coffee.

"She's the Captain of the cheerleading team. I need to ask her about practice today. Oh, there she is. I'll meet you at lunch," she shouted to me as she ran up to a skinny redhead.

I say 'redhead' as in noticeably colored red hair with dark roots coming in.

Usually, I don't like hair such as hers but she's so beautiful, she makes it work, like' model' beautiful.

I sighed and glanced down at my schedule to see what class I have first.

Algebra II with Mr. Pezzementi, room D197.

Math at the beginning of my day?

That sucks, at least I have coffee to keep me awake.

I looked up and saw a sign hanging down from the ceiling that read 'D Wing'.

Might as well get there early, I started walking towards the hallway, eyeing my schedule again to find out what my second class was.

Spanish, I liked Spanish class, it was an easy A for me.

My eyes moved lower on the schedule to see my third period, big mistake.

'Always look where you're going, kids.'

My shoes had me tripping in the middle of the hallway causing me to crash into someone, spilling all of my coffee on them.

I looked up with wide eyes at the person I splashed my iced coffee.

A boy with his arms up, looking down at his shirt with his mouth open in a shocked, pissed off expression.

There was a girl standing next to him with her hand covering her mouth and her eyes wide.

"Oh my God. I am so sorry," I exclaimed, frantically.

"What the actual fuck?" he exclaimed, looking up at me with the deadliest glare.

If looks could kill, I would have been ashes on the tiled floor then.

'Oh, the mess the janitor would have to clean.' '

"Watch where you're going next time," he warned me then bumped my shoulder as he and 'who I assumed was his girlfriend' walked away.

I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly made it to my first class, making sure to walk with my eyes up and not on my schedule.

Walking into room D197, I had five minutes before the bell.

Only a few people had already taken their seats.

I decided to sit in the front, hoping this spot will help me pay attention more.

When I sat down, I buried my head in my arms that laid on my desk.

'You're so stupid, Sam.'

On your first day too, I can't believe you did that.

He was so cute too but he's taken, so it wouldn't matter, plus the fact that he hates me now.

God, I hope I don't share any classes with him or see him ever again.

Luckily I didn't, well at least for my first four classes.

So much relief filled me at the end of fourth period because fifth for me was lunch and man, do I love eating.

[sneakerscartel]

Nike Book 1 “Haven” Releasing April 6th

[petnews2day]

Devin Booker's Dog Was the Inspiration for Nike Book 1 'Haven'

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/WDjoS

Devin Booker's Dog Was the Inspiration for Nike Book 1 'Haven'

NBA sensation Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns reveals his softer side as a dedicated pet parent. Through his latest Nike Book 1 sneakers, Devin Booker pays homage to his beloved pet dog, Haven. This acts as a testament to the bond they both share.  Devin Booker takes inspiration from his Cane Corso for Nike […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/WDjoS #DogNews

[econminute]

Weekend reads: Big is bad edition — Truth on the Market

Big is bad, part 1: Kafka, Coase, and Brandeis walk into a bar … There’s a quip in a well-known textbook that Nobel laureate Ronald Coase said he’d grown weary of antitrust because when prices went up, the judges said it was monopoly; when the prices went down, they said it was predatory pricing; and when they stayed the same, they said it was tacit collusion. ICLE’s Geoffrey Manne and Gus Hurwitz worry that not much has changed since Coase’s time:

[C]ompetition, on its face, is virtually indistinguishable from anticompetitive behavior. Every firm strives to undercut its rivals, to put its rivals out of business, to increase its rivals’ costs, or to steal its rivals’ customers. The consumer welfare standard provides courts with a concrete mechanism for distinguishing between good and bad conduct, based not on the effect on rival firms but on the effect on consumers. Absent such a standard, any firm could potentially be deemed to violate the antitrust laws for any act it undertakes that could impede its competitors.

Big is bad, part 2. A working paper published by researchers from Denmark and the University of California at Berkeley suggest that companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and Nike are taking advantage of so-called “tax havens” to cause billions of dollars of income go “missing.” There’s a lot of mumbo jumbo in this one, but it’s getting lots of attention.

We show theoretically and empirically that in the current international tax system, tax authorities of high-tax countries do not have incentives to combat profit shifting to tax havens. They instead focus their enforcement effort on relocating profits booked in other high-tax places—in effect stealing revenue from each other.

Big is bad, part 3: Can any country survive with debt-to-GDP of more than 100 percent? Apparently, the answer is “yes.” The U.K. went 80 years, from 1779 to 1858. Then, it went 47 years from 1916 to 1962. Tim Harford has a fascinating story about an effort to clear the country’s debt in that second run.

In 1928, an anonymous donor resolved to clear the UK’s national debt and gave £500,000 with that end in mind. It was a tidy sum — almost £30m at today’s prices — but not nearly enough to pay off the debt. So it sat in trust, accumulating interest, for nearly a century.

How do you make a small fortune? Begin with a big one. A lesson from Johnny Depp.

Will we ever stop debating the Trolley Problem? Apparently the answer is “no.” Also, TIL there’s a field of research that relies on “notions.”

For so long, moral psychology has relied on the notion that you can extrapolate from people’s decisions in hypothetical thought experiments to infer something meaningful about how they would behave morally in the real world. These new findings challenge that core assumption of the field.

  The week that was on Truth on the Market

LabMD.

[T]argets of complaints settle for myriad reasons, and no outside authority need review the sufficiency of a complaint as part of a settlement. And the consent orders themselves are largely devoid of legal and even factual specificity. As a result, the FTC’s authority to initiate an enforcement action  is effectively based on an ill-defined series of hunches — hardly a sufficient basis for defining a clear legal standard.

Google Android.

Thus, had Google opted instead to create a separate walled garden of its own on the Apple model, everything it had done would have otherwise been fine. This means that Google is now subject to an antitrust investigation for attempting to develop a more open platform.

AT&T-Time Warner. First this:

The government’s contention that, after the merger, AT&T and rival Comcast could coordinate to restrict access to popular Time Warner and NBC content to harm emerging competitors was always a weak argument.

Then this:

Doing no favors to its case, the government turned to a seemingly contradictory argument that AT&T and Comcast would coordinate to demand virtual providers take too much content.

    The post Weekend reads: Big is bad edition — Truth on the Market appeared first on Econ Minute.

Originally published at https://ift.tt/2tn30fv

[perpetuate9283-blog]

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[takebackthedream]

Why We Need to Confront the Billionaires' Paradise by Richard Eskow

The concentrated wealth of the global plutocracy is the dark matter of the world economy: it is rarely glimpsed, difficult to measure, and it reshapes everything around it.

Two recent reports – the UBS/PwC report on the “new Gilded Age” of the international billionaire class, and the “Paradise Papers”  released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reveal ways corporations and the ultra-wealthy avoid taxes – that offer a glimpse into this darkness.

Together, these releases tell us a lot about the wealthy few who run the world. We now know that the British royal family has been less than open with the people they rule, who preserve their dubious privilege to monarchy.

And we have learned that, by investing in a Lithuanian shopping center as an end run around taxes, U2’s Bono may have finally found what he’s looking for.

But these reports also help us see how much we still don’t know. In an era when, according to the Institute for Policy Studies, only three Americans  – Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett – own more than half of our entire population, we need to do more to understand  – and confront – the super-concentration of wealth.

Billionaire Boom

The Swiss bank UBS and the American accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers weren’t looking to write an exposé when they prepared their annual “Billionaires Insights” report for 2017.  On the contrary. So-called “very high net worth individuals” are the financial industry’s most sought-after clients.  The report is entitled, without any apparent irony, “New value creators gain momentum.”

And gain momentum these billionaires did.  As the report notes, “Globally, the total wealth of billionaires rose by +17% in 2016, up from USD $5.1 trillion to USD6.0 trillion.”

Did your net worth grow by 17 percent last year?  Unless you’re one of the world’s 1,542 billionaires, chances are it didn’t.

The U.S. Wealth Gap

In the United States, wealth for most households grew at a much slower rate, while racial disparities in wealth persist in middle-class households.

Analyses from economists Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, and Gabriel Zucman show a dramatic gain in income for the very wealthy – and no one else – in recent decades. In a useful explainer, David Leonhardt of the New York Times concluded:

Yes, the upper-middle class has done better than the middle class or the poor, but the huge gaps are between the super-rich and everyone else. The basic problem is that most families used to receive something approaching their fair share of economic growth, and they don’t anymore.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve reports that millions of Americans continue to struggle.  30 percent of adults, roughly 73 million people, are finding it difficult to make ends meet or are barely getting by. Just under one fourth of all adults said they could not pay all their bills for the current month. 44 percent said they could not cover an emergency expense of $400, and one fourth of all adults reported that they had to forgo medical treatment during the past year because of the cost.

A Second Gilded Age

As of last report, America’s ten wealthiest men – they are all men – are collectively worth more than $633 billion. The combined wealth of these 10 men has risen by nearly $116 billion since the start of this year alone.

The explosive growth of billionaire wealth, at a time when the middle class is dying and millions of Americans are struggling, has implications for democracy as well as the economy.

The work of political scientists Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page has shown that the preferences of the majority have very little effect on government policy, while the political wishes of the wealthy few are far more likely to become reality.

As history teaches us, centralized wealth often leads to political oligarchy. Our country is no exception. Expand this oligarchical effect across the globe, and you get a sense of the global reach of the billionaire class. As Oxfam international reported earlier this year, just eight men possesses as much of the world’s wealth as half the global population.

The author of the UBS/PwC report commented that “We are now two years into the peak of the second Gilded Age,” with levels of inequality not seen since 1905. He also says that “this is something billionaires are concerned about,” leading to fears that the world’s population could “strike back.”

It’s a rational fear.

How They Hide

The report lists some of the ways the billionaire class spends its money. Art collections, sports clubs, and philanthropy all rate a mention. Recent political events in the U.S. demonstrate that they’re also using their power to further enrich themselves and keep the majority from “striking back.”

One thing the wealthy are apparently not doing with their money is paying much in taxes. The ICIJ’s Panama Papers revealed that many people are using illegal means to avoiding taxation.

The Paradise Papers reveal something equally important: how billionaires and corporations can evade taxation – and public scrutiny of their wealth – through legal means. These documents were obtained from Appleby, one of the world’s leading law firms specializing in offshore accounts.

The New York Times recently profiled two billionaire political donors, one Democratic and one Republican, in an article about the papers that also cited an Appleby publication on the ultra-wealthy’s problem of “motivating children with means.”

The Appleby brochure includes the picture of a small boy in a three-piece suit; apparently that counts as cute to the super-rich. Another handout shows “a handsome couple” rushing to board a private jet, while another is captioned “wealth seeks out safe harbours.”

Appleby’s Clients

Appleby clients include prominent Democrats like Penny Pritzker, Commerce Secretary under President Obama, George Soros, and the aforementioned donor, James Simons. They also include prominent Republicans like Sheldon Adelson, Carl Icahn, and billionaire Robert Mercer, who used some of the money he saved avoiding taxes to set Steve Bannon up with a media empire.

When it comes to disseminating their ideas, it’s striking how many hard-core conservatives don’t trust the “free market” to get the job done.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has called for an investigation into the papers, noting that corporations such as Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Apple, and Nike are implicated in the documents.

Offshore havens do more than just help clients evade taxes. They also help them avoid responsibility. As the Times reports, “another offshore firm … advertises that it helps clients ‘preserve wealth from the ravages of litigation,’ political tumult and divorce.”

The Frontman

Pop stars also availed themselves of Appleby’s services, including the aforementioned Bono, who took advantage of Malta’s generous tax rates for foreign investors when he funneled money into that Lithuanian shopping center.

But then, the self-satisfied singer has a long history of giving high-minded speeches while failing to deliver for the poor, either personally or politically.

In his book The Frontman, author Harry Browne writes that Bono’s politics are “broadly … conservative” and can be seen as “fundamentally non-threatening to the elites that have wreaked havoc on the world.” To Browne, Bono is “a slick mix of traditional missionary and commercial colonialism, in which the poor world exists as a task for the rich world to complete.”

A Veneer of Conscience

In an oligarchical world, figures like Bono matter. They provide the singer’s “friends,” who range from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush to Jesse Helms, with a veneer of conscience. They inoculate members of the global elite from the guilt that is rightfully theirs.

Speaking of “frontmen”: the papers also show that Britain’s Prince Charles invested millions of pounds offshore. His estate insisted that the investment, which may have indirectly benefited from the prince’s environmental campaigns, be kept secret. The Queen also invested heavily in offshore companies, including one that has been criticized for exploiting poor families.

The Royals insisted that they obtain no tax advantage from these investments, which suggests that the public face of Britain’s government may well have been trying to hide its wealth from Britain’s people.

The Network

The authors of the UBS report probably didn’t intend these words to sound as ominous as they do:

Billionaires are leveraging their networks. They have always worked with groups of peers for business, investment and philanthropic ends. But they are using them more, for example to access significant funding outside the capital markets. Better connectivity is helping them to work together more effectively.

They are undoubtedly correct.  Americans need look no further then Donald Trump’s cabinet and circle of advisers, where billionaires gather to plot everyone else’s future while the rest of the Republican Party dutifully falls in line. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn were among those implicated by the Paradise Papers.

The effect of billionaire “networks” may also be found in the Democratic Party’s struggle to develop a platform that reflects the needs of working Americans without alienating very many high-net-worth donors. Hint: It can’t be done.

The Response

Concentrated wealth tends to be amoral, and the ultra-wealthy are growing more powerful all the time.  And since small businesses usually can’t afford the services of firms like Appleby, legalized tax evasion increases inequality among both individuals and businesses.

How can the United States and the world respond before it’s too late? Economists like Piketty and Zucman have called for a global wealth tax, although that would be difficult to enforce.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) argued that taxes on the western world’s 1 percent should be “significantly higher.” The Paradise Papers illustrate the importance of ending legalized tax evasion, and Zucman wrote an op-ed on the topic for the New York Times.

But it is hard to pass such measures in today’s political world. Here in the United States, there’s a strong chance Trump and Congress will cut taxes on billionaires and corporations instead. That’s what that happens when wealth becomes too concentrated and political power follows suit.

What We’re Looking For

The undemocratic and unequal state of our own country can no longer be hidden. These reports are informative, but so far we’ve only glimpsed the oligarchy’s reach and power.

This concentration of power must be investigated, and then it must be confronted – by a majority determined to take back the economy and democracy from the powerful few who have made it their plaything, before it’s too late.

It’s time to “strike back” – not against wealthy individuals, but against oligarchy itself.