Anyone from FOTESS checking in, please send your Bingo words to me by the end of the day tomorrow if you haven't already done so..

So I have six clematis, all different varieties. All in pots as I originally tried them in ground and lost several. Four are in front yard and two in back yard. The ones in back yard seldom bloom for some reason. The ones in front yard bloom at least once every year. All get part sun/part shade. This morning I added new soil to one and repotted one to match the other pot and will be moving to front yard. One is Duchess of Albany and one is Princess Diana. Neither has bloomed in several years. Hoping this will get me some blooms this year.

Too early to clean here yet. All the spring bloomers are doing well. We had our magnolia bloom only to be quickly hit with a freeze so it turned brown. Our second one is blooming now and looks beautiful. The bluebirds are starting to nest and I didnt get the boxed cleaned out first. Shame on me.

All my cleaning has been in my house as it has been on the market for two months. Twenty showings and no sale yet. It’s a fifty year old AFrame so needs the right buyer. The contract on the house we want won’t be extended but we know we will find something.

I am going to pass on bingo.

does anyone have a solution for moles? I can’t use poison and the trss aren’t going off. They are making a mess of our lawns.

Margo, I had voles at my SC home. Found some kind of product to sprinkle in the areas where they were and I believe it helped. It's a repellent and not to kill them. It's called Molemax so I assume they also recommend it for moles. With some plants, we planted them with cages around the roots so that works, too, but lots of work! When we had an outdoor cat, we didn't have them.

Now, moles are quite a bit different so I don't know ... Voles eat vegetative material and as far as I know moles eat grubs. Hope you have the right buyer for your house soon. The one in Lexington was a bit slow to sell, but part of that was the long delay to get it on the market because with COVID we had a hard time getting people in to make repairs and updates. And it only went on the market right around Christmas which I doubt is a big house hunting time.

As for the bluebird house, we just had a speaker about it at the garden club and they said bluebirds will nest in a box with a previous nest. I have a bluebird house here but it's an old one and I doubt it will ever attract any more bluebirds - probably leaks and is nasty inside, but I did pull out the old nesting material last year. I've never had bluebirds anywhere I lived so know little about them.

Ruth, the people who have clematis in my neighborhood have beautiful ones. I had some in SC but they didn't do much, I think they were in either too much shade or too much sun. I even replanted one to try to get it the right light conditions. Hopefully I can try one here. I keep looking for Pope John Paul II but only found one mail order place that has it so far - tiny ones for a high price so I'm not tempted. Hopefully I can find one locally..

Bingo Word for today: RECYCLE

I took some pictures of my flowering plants and put them in a collage and will post that.

If you don't log in again before Easter, Happy Easter to everyone!

Margo, I use Amdro mole and gopher pellets along with solar sound.

Margo,

The solar sound....it came in an 8 pack....they are by LEOFI. I bought on Amazon last year. They are considered a mole/vole repellant. You stick them in the ground,...and they beep, I think every 20-30 seconds to deter moles/voles. I have them in one part of my yard, more focused on my vegetable harden and surrounding areas. I think they help to a point but I have to use the Amdro pellets as well. I put the pellets all through my vegetable garden, which is gated off, so visiting dogs do not eat. I don't put the pellets out as much as I should...time always seems to get in the way. But the more I use the pellets, the better off I am. Hope this helps!!

Today's Bingo word on this wet and rainy day - KELLY.

I'm going to try to boil my eggs for dying and make some Easter cookies so we'll see how it goes. I watched something on the computer yesterday about how to make a butter lamb for Easter. I've never had one or even seen one in person so I may give it a try. If it's a success I'll post a picture.

Ok, second attempt. I can only type so much here on Houzz before it starts freezing up on me.

Thanks for the suggestions. Annie, with free roaming cats and a neighbor dog, I worry about poisons but will definitely check into the solar. They hate the smell of castor oil so I mix that with water snd funnel it in their tunnels but that just moves them elsewhere. I can get them out of the gardens that way but this year, there is so many! They’ve invaded the whole community.

Today's bingo word: GREEN ENVY ZINNIA

Rain and cold temepratures here yesterday and today. At least the rain is supposed to end early tomorrow. It sounds like the cold will be here for at least several more days. It would have been nice to have one of those really pretty days for Easter. I finally added more winter sowing jugs and most of them have sprouted. Let's hope they can withstand the cold.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Oh my, I forgot to draw some Bingo words - Easter threw me off schedule, I guess.

Picking them now.

Healthy Lawn

Chlorophyll

Disposable Cleaning Cloths

There are some very beautiful lawns and I guess if that's your favorite feature, that's your choice. I feel bad for the most part that people are so obsessed about their lawns. I give mine minimal care and am satisfied with it. When I think of all of those chemicals that go into our water supply just to make the lawn look great, I guess I just don't see doing things that way. It probably relates to me living in a wooded rural area for so long - no one could even see if we had a lawn from the road (and we did have some lawn on all sides of the house).At my house in Cary, I only have a lawn in the front of my house - none on the sides or in the back.

I doubt there is much discussion about Chlorophyll, definitely a good thing!

As for disposable cleaning cloths, I've never really gotten into using them. I keep old towels or cotton rags and use them for most clean up. I use paper towels in the kitchen though - just try not to overuse them and use a dish cloth or dish towel as much as I can for wiping up spills or picking up crumbs and things like that.

Any thoughts on any of this?

I hope you had a good Easter.

Today's BINGO word; Ground Covers

Today's BINGO word: SOIL TEST

So important and I haven't had one done on this property yet.

Oh my, I have not done a soil test in a more than a few years.

Jeanne, I also am a big user of paper towels. Unless the paper towels have some toxic cleaner ie glass cleaner....I put the used paper towels in my compost bin....tiz brown, so it works out very well. I don't think I have ever used disposeable cleaning clothes per se. I do use yellow microfiber cleaning clothes. I buy them in bulk at COSTCO....good for dusting, cleaning the floors etc....and they wash well. The microfiber clothes work great with my granite cleaner on my granite counters in the kitchen and bathrooms and on my stainless steel appliances etc...

I am laughing...do not ever accidently rub your face, lips with a microfiber towel...did that, done that....it roughed up my face plenty....LOL!

RE: lawns.....I only have the real green grass in the front yard/artificial in the back. Many people out here have switched over to artificial grass, primarily because of drought/and water restrictions. I like the front yard green, however during the hot Summer, even with sprinklers it is tough to keep it looking great all the time. I use organic stuff on it ie kelp, milorganite....and one hit of chemical fertilizer. I keep saying I am going to get rid of the real stuff in the front and go artificial....one of these days, I will just do it. And the voles/moles love to invade the real grass as well....problem!

Happy Thursday FOTESSERS....Enjoy!

I try not to use any chemicals in the yard and just do the necessary things like mowing.

We probably should have watered more last year. Might not have been the hot dry summer but I lost a redbud tree, a rose bush and a Rose of Sharon. Maybe some perennial vines also.

I do use too many paper towels but no disposable cleaning cloths.

We've never had a soil test done.

I put out my hummingbird feeders around the 1st and usually see a few every day. I'm also seeing a few butterflies.

A quick hello before I head to bed. We've had bad thunderstorms off and on all day - even up until a few minutes ago. I hope there are none during the night. So, I have not been on the computer today. See you tomorrow!

2 Bingo words because with the storms yesterday, I didn't post any.

BAKING SODA

VARIEGATED PLANTS

I love to use baking soda in cleaning sinks, dirty pots, dishes, frying pans, etc. It seems especially good at removing food that dries on such things and removing grease. I keep a small box of it under both the bathroom and kitchen sink.

As for variegated plants, I have a love of them - variegated leaves or flowers. Anyone have some in particular that you like? I used to have dozens of hostas in Lexington. Just three that are green here now that I'm in Cary. I think deer are drawn to them. Am I right? For now the 3 hostas are on my screened porch. I have coleus seeds on hand and plan to try some of those soon. I really like those and caladiums, too.

The weather was finally nice on a Saturday and I went on a historical tour of the Town of Cary this morning. I had never even been on most of those streets where people originally settled. There will be an Herb Festival at this same place in May so I plan to be there again. The guide pointed out a drug store that has the old-timey type lunch counter so I will be sure to visit it next time.

I hope you're having a good day! I think more rain will be here tomorrow.

Jeanne yes it was beautiful here today but rain tomorrow. I will have to remember the baking soda for cleaning. I also love variegated plants. We had to put up an electric fence to keep the deer from eating our hostas and daylilies.

Shirely, I suspect our weather is quite similar - no rain yet today, but I guess it will arrive later. Soil is still saturated from the heavy rain we've had. The grass is certainly beautiful!

Today's Bingo word: Glass Cleaner

Anyone have suggestions for what you like to use to both spray on the glass and wipe it off? I usually use bought glass cleaner (the commonly used one) and then wipe with paper towels. Sometimes that doesn't take care of the smears. Give me some suggestions.

RE: Glass cleaner...I like Lemi Shine...however, I have been having a problem finding it. I used to purchase at Walmart. I recently looked on Amazon....WOW...a 2 pack of 28 OZ spray bottles was $29 and change. 2 years ago I was paying $3 plus change at Walmart for one 28 oz spray bottle.

I have bought Sprayway at Costco...not bad. I use yellow microfiber towels with glass cleaner on mirrors and glass.

Baking soda on pans....I have not tried that, GREAT tip!! Jeanne, you use baking soda on your stainless sinks??

I am a big white distilled vinegar user in certain areas.....I pull the bad weeds ie crabgrass and then saturate it with distilled vinegar. I don't use in areas where I will be planting. It is perfect in crevice areas/paver areas, where weeds like to pop up. I buy the large containers at Costco....and it is cheap.

I wish I could grow hostas.....no go out here. I have tried with no success.

I love variegated sage, thyme and succulents.....

Happy Sunday!!

"Baking soda on pans....I have not tried that, GREAT tip!! Jeanne, you use baking soda on your stainless sinks??"

When I use it on pans and the sink it's to get stuff off the pan or sink (as in when they need a bit of a scrub). There are likely things that make it shinier. If I have something like a pan I used for baking lasagna or eggs that are really stuck on, I soak it with baking soda and water first and if that isn't enough make a paste with the baking soda and scrub with it. Hasn't damaged anything yet! At least in my case it has made it much easier to clean up - sort of loosens the attachment of the food to the pan, dish or whatever.

Never heard of Lemi Shine. I'll have to see if I can find it anywhere. I use Windex or the generic version of it, whatever I end up getting.

Today's Bingo word is MICROFIBER CLOTH.

For several days now I've wanted to get more potting soil and a bit of mulch --- and obviously to browse at all the new plants in the garden centers. I did that today and got a pack of 5 peonies, a beautiful hosta and a beautiful fern. Let's see if I can get a picture attached. The plants were in too small of a pot so I had a time repotting them and then planted each of the peonies in their own container. We'll see how they do. Last year I lost every plant I bought so I have been slow to allow myself to buy more. There is still one more nursery that I want to go to and "browse".

FOTESS ladies...help me out. What is going on with my Hollyhocks? Something is munching on them...and maybe some rust. Some of the leaves are Browning up, primarily on the bottom of the plants. They are 5-6 ft tall and I don't want to lose them. Suggestions?

WHOOPS...my camera case strap got in the pic on the second pic.

The tops of the plants are very healthy for now and there are buds. Do I spray with ???? or what???

Thanks much!

Jeanne, OH I wish I could grow Peonies....not out here in SO CAL! Several years ago Shirely sent me a Peony....I tried and I tried and tried again....total bust! Enjoy your Peonies, Hosta and fern.....yes, sword ferns do grow well out here if in the proper location and they spread nicely.

I do love variegated plants and have a few.

I use baking soda for cleaning various things.

I often use it when something sticks to my Nesco roaster pan.

Scorched pot cleaner..........

Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on the bottom of the pot, and add enough water to cover the burnt areas. Bring the mixture to a boil and empty the pan as usual.

I've used various glass cleaners but don't have a favorite.

Annie, sorry no help here with your hollyhocks. I can't seem to grow them. Dogs destroyed last ones I had. Zebrina used to come up every year but after blooming for a while they would always get rust. I would pull and trash when that happened.

Annie, I was never able to grow hollyhocks in Lexington when I lived there. Tried several times. I have no idea why I couldn't so I'm no help. I also tried peonies even though they are not supposed to grow in SC. The plants came up for several years but I think all I got was one bloom. Finally sent them to some people farther north when we did swaps. I do see peonies growing here in NC so if these budded root cuttings make it, maybe in a year or two I'll have a peony flower. I hear they are slow growing.

Irises were a lost cause in SC but do very well here. It surprises me because I always heard they don't so well in wet soil and there's plenty of that here. One other thing I miss growing that we always had in our garden when I was a child is rhubarb. I love it - especially strawberry rhubarb pie! Too hot for rhubarb in SC. I don't know if it will grow in NC but I'm thinking "no".

Anyway, since I moved in I knew I had to get my siding and other exterior things repaired on my house and get it repainted. The company I chose began today and seems to be doing great. They expect to have everything completed in a week and it's a long list of things. It will feel good to get something checked off my list. I don't think the list will ever come to an end.

Bingo word for today: FERTILIZER

My poor plants get little fertilizer. It's just not something I have ever used a lot. Occasionally I will sprinkle some organic fertilizer here there. I do have some compost that I've been adding lately. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks Ruth and Jeanne. Funny, I thought Hollyhocks were very common in the Carolinas/East Coast. This year they popped up in many areas of my yard, probably because of all the rain we had....

Enjoy your Wednesday!!

Today's Bingo word is KALE.

Things are still going great with the work crew here at my house. In addition to working on the house today they are rebuilding part of my wooden windmill that I have in the yard. I've had it for a long time and just love it. Can't believe they were willing to do this. It's so often just a "throw away world"! The windmill is hand built and turns with the wind. Probably close to 5' tall. A gift from my husband years ago. My part of today's work was moving all the plants and other things off the screened porch (also to be worked on) and picking out my paint colors. With this being an HOA neighborhood I just went with the closest color to what I have now, but what I have is so faded that it will look great to have fresh paint. I have no idea when the previous owners may have had it painted last, but lots of wood that needed to be replaced so quite the project.

Annie, I remember hollyhocks growing well in New York back when I was a kid. Probably they don't make it through the high heat in parts of the south.

Jeanne I have over 100 peonies and they do very well here. I really like them and

they are easy to care for.

Today's Bingo word is MOSS.

No one showed up to work on my house today even though I was told they would be here. Hope things start moving along like expected. I've skipped my quilt meeting for this evening because I thought they would be here and wasn't sure how late they would work.

Right now the screening has been taken off my screened porch and Delilah (my cat) is unhappy not to be able to go out there! I'm sure she will be happy to give them her opinion also.

I think I will begin to post 2 Bingo words each day so we can wrap the game up. Hope that suits everyone,.

The crew was here working on my house once again. They will be back on Monday.

Apparently there will be storms here later in the day tomorrow. Sure will be glad once all the work on the house is completed. Unfortunatley still lots more on my "to-do" list.

Bingo words for today: SPINACH and COMPOST

Rainy day here today which was expected. They sure make me sleepy!

I guess tomorrow might be a good day to try to do some planting. Many of my potted plants are in the kitchen and garage while the work is being done on my house.

Bingo words for today: HUNTER and WINDOW TREATMENTS

Just thought I would ask, do you shut your blinds, window shades or shutters (or whatever you have for your windows) during the day to keep the sun out and make it cooler? I'm not big on doing that, I like to look out and see the plants, trees, and whatever is going on. Occasionally if it's extra hot and very sunny I will block the sun for a little while. I'm more inclined to close things at night in the winter time to keep it a bit warmer in the house and there's nothing to see outdoors at night anyway.

Bingo words for today: GARDEN GLOVES and LIME

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. The sun is out - hooray - I guess more rain ahead for the week though.

Jeanne, I keep my shades, blinds and sheers open all the time, regardless of weather. I like the open, see everything look. Some people don't understand why I do that. They think people will "look inside" ....haha! I just don't worry about that. Most of my house is pretty difficult to look

Annie, I like to look outside, too. So many pretty trees and other plants to look at!

Today's Bingo words (and they are very appropriate for me!): VACUUM CLEANER and LAWN MOWER/

Some may remember there was one January where I was hostess and I had a "clean theme". Anyway, during that we talked about brooms, vacuum cleaners and mops among other things. I was so excited because I had gotten a lightweight vacuum to use on the bare floors. It's still working and I still enjoy having it. I have not gotten one that runs itself although most people seem to really like them. Now, as for the lawn mower. My husband bought the lawn mower I have almost 6 years ago so I have been the one to use it about half the time we've had it. I love this lawn mower. It never gives me a problem and it has done much more than lawns. I used it to do some clearing of overgrown stuff (really thick and tall stuff) around the barn when I was in Lexington. Anyway, I think it was Thursday of last week I went to mow and it wouldn't hold a charge and then wouldn't run at all. Everyone says my battery must have died. Apparently lasting 6 years is very good for a battery. I went to the store today and got a new one - only the one like I needed in the store so I was lucky about that. I haven't charged it yet, but I'll take care of that tomorrow and make sure it works okay.

No rain today and I heard that tomorrow will be clear as well so the painters are hard at work trying to finish my house. The main color is completed and looks so nice. I can't believe they've gotten so much done in just 4 days.

Jeanne I have just taken down my Window blinds. I love to look out and less cleaning those awful blinds. YEAH

Good evening all. I have not been participating much because we have been busy selling our house. Put it on the market in January. Had several showings but no offers til recently. We are a lake community so now that it is warmer, people are more interested. accepted a bid the other day and barring no inspection problems, it is sold. Drove to Virginia over the weekend and put it an acceoted bid. Inspection on Friday. If all goes well, we will be taking ownership June 16th and moving out of our house on June 25th.

The big word here is cleaning. I was cleaning constantly for these showings. Thank goodness I can relax now.

We are going on a cruise in two weeks. When wd get back, I will be splitting up some plants to take with me. There are gardens in the VA house but nothing in them but dirt sona clean pallet for my garden artwork. Once it is a done deal, I will post pictures.

Great news about your house, Margo. That is such a rough time going through the buying and the selling. Congratulations!'

2 More Bingo words:

RAIN WATER BARREL and HEDGE TRIMMER

Sometimes I get interested in getting a rain water barrel but haven't done it. I worry a bit about it attracting mosquitoes. Has anyone had a problem with that?

I have 2 hedge trimmers, I guess one was from my home in Lexington and the other maybe from my dad or a brother-in-law who passed away. I love to trim hedges. Of course my husband used to do it, but I felt like Edward Scissorhands once I was using them! Haven't ever had a string trimmer and fear I may have to get one eventually. We'll see.

Edward Scissorhands.....to funny!!

2 Bingo words for today (sure sounds like Southern cooking!):

COLLARD GREENS and FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Bingo

We shut blinds at night but I try to open in daytime to let in more sunlight. Curtains (insulated) get closed to help keep in heat, air conditioning or during storms.

Margo, Congratulations on your new house.

Jeanne, I also worry about mosquitoes in rain barrels. Plus, I'm not sure one would make that much difference in our summers. Maybe if the droughts get worse.

COLLARD GREENS and FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

I prefer turnip greens over collard greens.

My mama used to make fried green tomatoes and I love them. I don't eat them anymore because I try to not eat seeds.

Annie, congrats on bingo.

Lots of storms here this week so not much yard work. I need to get my tomato and pepper plants in bigger pots. I was up at 2:30 this morning with one of our dogs that doesn't do well with storms. Had stuff going on all day but the worst is South of us tonight.

Congratulations on Bingo, Annie!

The rain is visiting us now, Ruth. I know it's frustrating for the workers trying to finish up the exterior on my house. I don't know why it makes me extra tired because I'm not doing the work they are, but I do have to get up much earlier than I usually do and keep an eye on things. Yesterday I got up to no hot water and my TV service not working. Had nothing to do with the workers being here - just things that pop up. Not a fun day! The plumber came really fast and TV should be taken care of this afternoon.

Gosh, I love Fried Green Tomatoes. I have not made them in a very long time. I love the movie as well. I think the 1990's movie is what got me turned on to Fried Green Tomatoes. FGT are not found out here in restaurants...never!

RE: rain barrels....I have not checked in to getting them....mosquito issues have been my concern as well. However, you guys get rain during the Spring and Summer months, where I do not. With all of the rain we had in Jan, Feb and March, I did let lots of rain water go in to 40 gallon barrels and have used it to water and refill the pool. It kills me to dump water...such a waste. But no more because the mosquitos will go crazy.

Jeanne, maybe you are extra tired because you want it done....delays etc start working on the brain. As well, you have to keep an eye on the boys to make sure they do what you want. Imagine leaving your house for the day...coming home...and finding the outside of your home was painted Brothel Red....surprise, surprise!! Oh my!! LOL!

Margo, great news about the sale of your home!! And the purchase of your new home in Virginia!!

Happy Evening!

Margo congratulations on your house selling and buying another one. I

have always lived where we are now because it is where all my siblings and I grew up. I can see all of their houses from my house. We do have our Daughter, a Nephew and a Niece that live here also. A great Niece will be joining us soon she is getting married in June.

Rain again tomorrow so another day in the house. Lots of rain here lately.

Jeanne, thanks for hosting "Clean and Green" for the month of April!!

This month reminded me that I have to get a new blower or a tool that blows and sucks up stuff ie leaves and will mulch it if you so choose.

Happy May to all!

Glad everyone had fun. Annie, I need to get a string trimmer at some point. There are some places where the ground is too uneven for me to mow.

Anyway, I have the month of May and will try to post it later today. One of the games will involve the Kentucky Derby or the Kentucky Oaks (maybe both). If you want to pick a horse to come in First - Third in the race from the list, take a look once I have it posted. I need to look and see exactly who is running. The Oaks (on Fri.) is for the lady horses and the Derby (on Sat.) for the boys.

The workers finished with the exterior work and painting of my house on Friday. It sure is nice to have everything look fresh and new. Now to schedule some indoor work and also time for me to work on the lawn and garden. I had to move my plants off the screened porch so they could work on it so I think some of my winter sowing plants won't make it - they were still tiny, but a few are still growing. I certainly have plenty more seeds I can try out!

Jeanne, thank you for hosting a fun month.

Jeanne, I received my prize......LOVE! Carrot plates, to darn cute!!

Thanks so much!