Clean terra-cotta pots with soap solution, vinegar

Dear Readers: Your summer patio or lanai must be beautiful by now! It’s teeming with beautiful plants and flowers, but what if you have terra-cotta pots with that awful white film?

Hard water is the culprit. Scrub the empty pot with dish soap and a stiff brush, and rinse. Then wipe down the entire pot with fullstrength white or apple-cider vinegar until the white deposits have dissolved. Let the pot dry completely. To limit future white staining, seal the pot with an acrylic sealant.— Heloise

PET PAL Dear Readers: Mary Ann R. in West Monroe, La., sent a picture of a rare blonde squirrel that she’s been feeding for about a year in her beautiful backyard. Mary Ann has named her Blondie!

To see Blondie and our other Pet Pals, visit Heloise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.” Do you have a furry and funny friend? Email a picture and description to: Heloise@Heloise.com !—Heloise

GARDEN BLINDS Dear Heloise: For years, I’ve planted different types of tomatoes and had trouble identifying them. Aluminum venetian blind slats work perfectly for this.

They are thin enough to be cut with scissors, and a regular hand-held punch will make holes for attachment.

I mark them with a permanent marker and wire them to the support stake.—A Reader, Lebanon, Ohio

BUSY BATH

Dear Heloise: When my kids were young, I’d substitute a wading pool for bath time. I’d squirt bubble bath into the pool and blast with the hose.

We’d invite a neighbor kid and watch them play!— Dianne in North Carolina

EASY SEEDS

Dear Heloise: When starting seeds and young seedlings, I use the large, clear plastic salad containers that grocery stores sell salad in as “mini greenhouses.”

I just fill halfway with potting soil and moisten. I can keep them in a sunny window or outside.—C.M.Y., Beachwood, N.J.