Summer is a busy time for the gardener and flower arranger. There are so many blooms out there that are just ripe for the picking and are easy to arrange. Flowers reflect the freshness and warmth of summer and it always nice to have a flower arrangement in the home. Certain flowers only bloom in the summer and it is best to feature them in your summer flower arrangements.

Here is a list of summer flowers that you can use for your flower arrangements:

Sunflower – Representing the brightness of the summer season, sunflowers are considered the primary summer flowers. These big, eye-catching, and vibrant flowers only bloom completely during the summer. They are great for big and elaborate arrangements.

Aster – Aster attracts bright and colorful butterflies in the summer. These flowers come in beautiful shades of white, pink, blue, and purple. According to flower myths and traditions, aster signifies patience, variety, and delicacy.

Sweet Pea – You can add sweet pea to your flower arrangement to give it a nice, sweet scent.

Daisy – This summer flower denotes innocence, gentleness and purity. Sometimes called “the marker of summer”, the daisy is also called the “day’s eye” because it opens up and closes along with the sun. For a simple flower arrangement, simply get an empty milk bottle, fill it with water and put in a handful of these pretty blooms.

Lily – The sensitizing effect of lilies will never fail to lighten your mood or bring a smile to your face so add them in your flower arrangement.

Snapdragons – Snapdragons make beautiful cut flowers. They are great hung from a basket or kept in a tall, slim vase.

Make the best of summer by filling the spaces in your house, garden, and office with these summer blooms. They will not only beautify your room, they can lighten up your mood as well.

    

Shedding – Most carpets retain some loose fibers after they are installed. These fibers often appear as balls of fluff on the surface of your carpet or in your vacuum cleaner. With time, they will work their way out of the carpet and no longer be a nuisance.

Sprouting – Occasionally, loose tufts will appear above the carpet surface. To remove the loose tufts, just clip them even with the carpet’s surface. Do not pull out loose ends. If you do, you will permanently damage the carpet.

Shading – You may notice some variations in the color of your carpet; one area may seem to change color when you look at it from different directions. This is because light reflects differently as the pile is pushed in a variety of directions. Foot traffic generally causes this to happen and the best solution is to sweep or vacuum the pile in a uniform direction.

Rippling – If your carpet is rippling up off the floor, it is probably due to the relatively high humidity. This situation usually resolves itself as the carpet settles.

New Carpet Smell – There are some things that you can do to minimize the smell. Most importantly, be sure to ventilate the area as much as possible. You should open the doors and windows, and use fans to keep the air circulating during installation and for up to 72 hours afterward. The odor usually goes away within a week; sometimes within days.

Crushing – Your carpet will display crushing in spots where heavy objects have been placed. To raise the pile back to it former height, try passing a hot steam iron over the indentations — but bring the iron no closer than six inches above the carpet.

Missing Tufts – If  a tuft becomes snagged or works loose, just cut it off and let the surrounding yarn fill in the space.

There are three important stops that you must use to treat a stain, hopefully before it has a chance to set in your carpet:

Apply: Wet a clean white (not printed) paper towel with a cleaning solution. Then dampen the carpet with it. Avoid wetting the carpet through to its backing.

Blot:  Absorb the excess liquid from the carpet by pressing straight down with a clean and dry white paper towel.  Do not rub. Place a half-inch think pad of clean and dry white paper towels with a weight on top and leave overnight if necessary.

Scrape: Gently scrape the soiled area with the blunt edge of a spoon. Scrape from the otside edge of the spot toward the center.

  

When selecting a tile design for your kitchen, take all of your elements into consideration: including cabinetry, appliance finishes and furniture. Take pictures of each when shopping for countertops, backsplashes and floor tile.

During a remodel or new construction, it’s best to select paint colors last. Paint is much easier and less expensive to change than countertops and flooring.