Much Needed Rain!!

I'm happy to report that we had a lot of rain this past week. It was very much needed and appreciated! My plants loved it.
I did find a way to keep the rabbits from eating my plants. I put a tire over my plant and nothing bothers it, and it grows so much better! Even my Spanish Broom, which I thought was dead, is coming back.
My container plants are now doing better. The Cosmos plants are about 7 inches high now. I have snapdragons, and petunias in containers also and they are doing great. I planted some Moonflower seeds and am waiting for them to come up.
I'm still taking pictures of my plants so I can put them on this site. Hopefully, it will be in the next couple of weeks.
Happy gardening!

Gardening in the Wind

I have been gardening-well, watering my plants, keeping them growing. We had horrible wind the past 3 days and being outside was not a good feeling. There was ice on the bird water containers this morning, but none of my plants froze. I have some planted in front of my porch and there is a wall surrounding them, so they might be in a microclimate which provides protection.
My Columbine is blooming, and also my Snapdragons. I have been taking pictures to put online so I can post them here. My flower seeds sprouted, so in a month I hope to see them growing and blooming soon. I am watering my bamboo a lot so it will get a good start also.
So, now all we need is rain! We haven't had any in so long. It would make a huge difference as things seem to bloom better with rain.
Also, rabbits have managed to eat anything coming up in my garden area, except for the mexican cactus I transplanted, and since I have several water containers for birds, there are always some to watch out there. I may have to be satisfied with trees and grass out there, or grow some hanging plants, out of reach of the rabbits.
So, hopefully, soon I will have some pictures on this blog.

Spring Planting and watering

I planted flower seeds last week, and dug up some plants at a friend's house to bring home and transplanted those. I planted poppies, black eyed susan, carnations, columbine, hollyhock, morning glory, and a few other seeds and plants. I've also been watering my grass and it is coming back to green now! I love this time of year.
On the other hand, it's also time to rake and burn weeds. I've spent a few early mornings doing that before the wind starts up. The main reason for doing so is-we are in a drought here in central NM and the fire danger is high. I want to keep a clear area around my house.
So, some of my flower seeds are coming up! I watch daily to see how much they've grown. I also worry about the things I planted in the back yard because rabbits eat almost everything.
I think I'll have to put some garden pictures on a CD and post them on here. The pictures I scanned wouldn't work on here.

Spring Is Here!!

It appears that spring is here. A sign of spring in New Mexico is the wind and dust which lasts for about a month. I hope April will bring the end to it!

I had forgotten that a friend gave my daughter many packets of flower seeds last summer, and instead of buying many plants, I will plant these seeds. I am going to Walmart to get a big bag of potting soil this week, and I will mainly plant in containers. Last summer, with the dry conditions and heat, I used containers all around my front yard and everything grew well.

I grew moonflowers in a container. The vines spread up my porch lattice and the flowers were beautiful. I want to plant those again. I am thinking about planting herbs also.

So, I hopefully will post some pictures here of my beautiful flowers this summer. Wish me luck.

Spring

After our freezing temperatures in December and January, and the bleak, gray color of winter, I am so ready for spring. I can't wait to buy plants, plan my garden, and beautify my yard and garden!

I already have plans to zeriscape certain areas of my garden, due to hot summer temperatures. I also want unusual containers for plants in my front yard, and on my porch. I am going to set aside a gardening fund and when the time is right I will excitedly rush out and buy plants in abundance.

My house plants are thriving. I just transplanted my lime tree and it has buds now, so hopefully I will have a few nice limes this summer. My orchid cactus is growing like crazy, and I hope I get to see it bloom again, even though the bloom just lasts for one night.

In the meantime, until spring is here, I will enjoy my plants in the house, and enjoy the flowers. I will keep working on the garden area so it will be ready for my eager planting, and planning soon.

Housecleaning as a business

I have cleaned houses for money for the past 25 years. I find it satisfying on a personal level. I have made many friends among my cleaning clients. People marvel at the fact that I enjoy it. I just do. I always look around, after I've finished cleaning a house, and admire my work. I bask in the compliments of my customers.

I will delve into my methods and organization of my tasks. First of all, I usually always start in the kitchen of a house. I wash dishes if there are some to be done. I wipe down countertops, tables, stove top, and then sweep, mop. With the other rooms, I dust each room, pick up, then vacuum. In the bathroom I clean mirrors and sink, then bathtub, then toilet, and move on to sweeping and mopping. In a bathroom I will usually put a cleaning agent in the toilet and let it sit until I'm finished with everything else, then clean it last. I have found that using a spray cleaner such as "Mr. Bubble" in the shower, and letting it sit for a few minutes, will work on soap scum buildup very well. Sometimes a scrub pad is necessary to get rid of a build up of scum on a shower wall.

Some customers dislike the smell of cleaning chemicals-in that case I use baking soda, and vinegar. This works very well on just about any surface. Baking soda is good for sinks, countertops, stove tops. Vinegar is good for mirrors, for glass shower doors, and will remove calcium deposits on faucets and fixtures if left for a while to soak.

In later posts I will share some more information about various cleaning tasks, and give advice on the business.