If you won the lottery, would you . . .

Spend it on gardening?

Lottery winner plans to grow better carrots
Tue Jun 16, 12:48 pm ET

LONDON (Reuters) – A 74-year-old amateur gardener who scooped a 25 million pound lottery prize said Tuesday he would spend part of his winnings hiring an expert to learn how to grow better carrots.

Brian Caswell said he had always struggled with the vegetable on the prize-winning allotment he maintains with his Joan, 71, in Halliwell, near Bolton.

"I've been trying to grow carrots ever since I've been on that allotment and I've never had any success," he told reporters at a televised briefing.

"What I'm going to do now is bring a professional in and say, 'Right, sort that out.'"

He said the couple had decided to go public with the news of their huge win in last Friday's EuroMillions draw on the advice of lottery operator Camelot.

"How could you keep that secret?" he said. "The answer is you can't."

His wife said she was still adjusting to her sudden wealth, which saw the couple's win splashed on the front of the Sun and the Daily Mirror.

"Usually we are the people sitting watching the television, and now everybody is sitting watching Brian and I."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090616/od_nm/us_lottery_1

You've got to admire the man's passion!!!


This message was edited Jun 17, 2009 9:57 AM

If I won the lottery, I would buy the house next door, the one with the neighbor who grows nothing but weeds, blackberry vines, and junk trees. I'd love to add that garden to my own, kill everything in it, and plant nice things instead.

Zuzu - are there any roses you don't have? Maybe you could plant duplicates of all your favorites.

Certainly I'd spend some money on the garden but first I'd pay to have the local herd of deer relocated. I can buy all the carrots I want but I do understand the man and his desire to grow the perfect carrot.

If I won the lottery?
I think of it often.
I would have a landscape company come in and lay stone paths and terrace the side yard with raised rock( real rock ) wall beds,wide enough for a walker so I can garden another 10 years,take down the wood deck and replace with stone.
The slope starts just where I garden and I often loose my balance.
Fell twice,once rolled down the hill onto neighbors driveway.
Then set my kids and grand kids up with trusts.
Nice to think about.

Pirl, there are lots of roses I don't have, but they're mostly roses I'm not crazy about. There aren't many I don't have that I do want, but I could use another half-acre to plant all of the poor roses that are confined to pots in my garden now. They probably feel like bonsai plants and would much rather stretch out.

JoAnn, I hope your dream comes true and your slope can be terraced. Falling down hills by accident and rolling onto someone else's driveway is no fun at any age.

If you dont have a sense of humor by the time your over 60 you'r not going to "make it"

Oh, yes, I'd buy the neighboring properties, terrace, put in citrus trees (what else?) and help our neighbors across the road landscape: they are wonderful neighbors, young couple with child and horses which take up all their time and $$. The property next door is dual zoning and we could ensure a quiet retirement if we owned it. Ahhhh, dreams...now, if we only bought lottery tickets! LOL

If I won the lottery (and I don't ever buy tickets...) and depending on HOW MUCH I won, I would:

1.) Pay someone to deer-proof pirl's property and find someone to develop an Agapanthus that would grow for her in NY.

2.) Pay someone to gopher-proof Zuzu's property and keep her supplied with smokes for eternity !

3.) Then I'd be out of Southern Califonia so fast it would make your head spin !

Really, Mike? Where would you go? Much as I don't like a lot of things about the left coast, I can't think of where else I would go - can't stand cold weather.

The first round of Liquid Fence has been applied and it stinks! I would definitely appreciate deer relocation to somewhere in Idaho or Wyoming but I'll pass on the Agapanthus, thank you.

I'm curious as well. Where would you like to live, JD?

I'd stay in Calif., but like Central Calif. better. Like Lompoc, Santa Maria, Orcutt...

TOO many people anymore in So. Cal. and it's getting worse by the minute. Getting really annoyed with "Press ONE to hear these instructions in Spanish".

I don't think you'll escape that in Lompoc: 40% of the population is Hispanic. On the other hand, it's close to Santa Barbara (my favorite place in California) and the water situation there is great. They have such an abundant aquifer that they don't depend on other locations for their water.

I would move to northern california, oregon or washington so I could have water for my plants. I would start trying my hand at growing mini roses.

Im with you jasper out of so cal.

going somewhere not crowded.

of course taking care of my mom and brother and grandma.

This message was edited Jun 20, 2009 6:21 PM

Hmmmmm....dreaming about winning the lottery. Landscape for sure, make things more comfortable for mom, lots of places that need help. Would love to have a greenhouse as long as I had help with other things so I'd have the time to spend in it.

Jasper, we have "Please press one" also. Gardening is different, but doable. There are places where the winters are even milder than ours. Wouldn't want to go back down south, it's just so lovely up here.

We buy one ticket when the numbers go up, figure I'll definetly never win if I don't play.

I'd go to Seattle area,temperate climate and everything grows bigger.
OOOPS its Fathers Day.
I'm baking Corn Bread for the SIL

This message was edited Jun 21, 2009 5:29 AM