It is a mellow environment. The house is decorated with wooden furniture and one-of-a-kind pictures hang on the wall. Flower and plant arrangements are replicated throughout the house, creating an array of interior masterpieces.

The service is open and friendly and the immediate welcomed feelings present a sense of home.

Maude Hohmsteim, sales manager of Cañon Rock and Garden, said many people would recognize her from 16th Street Cafe, where she previously worked, but Hohmsteim now has found her niche — using her hobbies to do what she loves.

“I love colors and interior decorating,” Hohmsteim said. “I want to surround myself with color.”

Not only does she love to decorate, Hohmsteim also finds time to put together flower and plant arrangements and collect unique items from consignment shops to sell at the store.

Hohmsteim, 55, originally from Sweden, said she worked as a waitress for many years and knows what good service is all about.

She moved to Colorado to help take care of a ranch on 14,000 acres.

When the owner died, the caretakers decided they needed a “cowboy” to continue the job.

“I’m not a cowgirl,” Hohmsteim said, “I’m a city slicker.”

When Hohmsteim moved to Cañon City, she began painting and interior decorating.

“I realized I needed a change,” she said.

Cañon Rock and Garden, located at 2753 E. Main St., could easily be mistaken as a home, but the sign in the back area of the property shows the business is ready for the summer season.

“(The customers) say it looks like a house,” Hohmsteim said. “They say, ‘I didn’t know you were here.’”

But once they find it, Hohmsteim said, they see everything the place has to offer.

On the north side of U.S. 50, a metal palm tree, Cañon Rock and Garden’s trademark, sits as a landmark for the location. When a customer finds the business behind U Pump It gas station, they will see the variety of landscaping and interior decorations the business holds.

Piles of gravel, sand, rocks and boulders fill the back yard of the business and wait for a new home to landscape.

“It’s probably going to hit all at once,” Hohmsteim said, speaking of the busy summer season.

Hohmsteim has been a Cañon City resident for seven years now and is excited to serve her neighbors.

“(The business) has become very important to me,” she said.

source : www.canoncitydailyrecord.com