7 Sweet Things-Perennials Groundcover

The best part of Spring in the Sweetwater Gardens is when all the perennial ground covers start to show their bright happy green selves.




When gardens cover as much real estate as the ones around here.....ground covers make a big difference!

Here are 7 Sweet Ground Covers to try if you don't know about them already!

 Lamium

This plant loves Sweetwater!

It comes up everywhere.....

In the rocks....

In the lawn.....

But in the Shady part of the garden,

Lamium is a star with it's ability to flower in the shade!!

Pachysandra

no....not an elephant named Sandra!!!

but a shiny, creeping ground cover that stays green almost year round....even in Minnesota!

 It is the first spot of green as soon as the snow melts.
It makes a great border....I just keep ripping it up and plopping it in new spots around the yard.

I love to use Pachysandra in arrangements as fill.  

The sturdy leaves almost become their own "flower frog". 

 Wild Ginger

You can't eat it....it is poisonous....but you can look at it...

The texture and shape are a nice companion to the Lamium and Pachysandra!

Fiddlehead Fern

The best camouflage for the compost bin is the stand of Ferns that is finally taking root!

Yah....they seem to be rooting everywhere...

I dig them up and transplant them to pots for "free" spikes in planters.

I planted this pot yesterday...the pot WAS clean before our morning thunderstorm!

The variety I have does not cut well....hmmmm....maybe I need to shop for a kind that does!

Creeping Thyme

This little gem is the star of the Sweetwater entrance when it is in bloom.

Some people call it a "steppable" because you can walk on it and when you do....
a lovely aroma comes up!

 Sedum

There are so many varieties of sedum....and every one is a great ground cover for sunny spots.

This little bright yellow version transplants well and is sturdy enough to be "steppable".

The common name for some Sedum is "Stonecrop"....guess this photo shows why!
The bright yellow flowers will show up in a month or so and be pretty showy!

This teensy tiny Sedum is "Stonecropping" everywhere in the landscape rocks....Yikes!

Hosta

At Sweetwater the Hosta is otherwise named "Deer Food"

But never the less.....we have an abundance of the stuff!

Big Leaved....Small Leaves.....Tall....Short....Dark Green.....Yellow

We love them all and move them at random all over the gardens.

I wish I was one of those gardeners who keep track of the names of their plants....

But alas, I am NOT that gardener....so I never know what to tell people when they ask...

So Sweetwater is full of NO NAME Hosta....like the Steak!!!

There you have them....some of my favorite plants!

Feel free to comment with YOUR favorites!

Have a very green day!

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Personalized Stationery the Thrifty Way!

I love pretty stationery....don't you?

I have a bunch of stamping supplies sitting in a box.....

but I never seem to have the time or will power to really do that anymore...

SOMEDAY....MAYBE!!!

And since the advent of:

Email

Texts

Phone calls

Skype

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

There isn't a lot of need to have fancy personalized stationery!

And....certainly, there is NO need to spend a lot of money on such a little used luxury!

Here is a little trick I have learned to have some fancy lady notecards that are fun to use...

....and to give as gifts!

Have you ever looked at the lovely Wedding Stationery Kits at Target and Michaels?

Pretty...Huh?!

Well....even if there is NO wedding in my future...that doesn't mean I can't use this elegant stuff!!!

The Goodwill that I go to often has boxes of Wedding Stationery Kits for cheap!

And, check out the clearance aisle at Michaels....they often have boxes on sale!

Usually under 10 dollars....for lots and lots of stationery to repurpose!

Sometimes the box has been opened....or some pieces are missing...

oh.....such pretty designs.....heavy card stock....lovely envelopes!!!

I buy them and turn them into personalized notecards!

All it takes is some time spent with my word processing software....

Some creative use of monograms....

Or...a favorite quote!

One year we used the folded pocket to hold our Christmas Photo with a printed greeting....

The fancy stickers and ribbon made for a pretty nice greeting card!

When I need a quick baby gift...what could be cuter than notecards personalized with the baby's name?

Mom and Dad have stationery to send thank-you cards...



I love these yellow cards....
so cute for a new baby girl!

No birthday gift on the shelf for a girlfriend...or no time to shop....?

Print out some cards with a monogram.....quick....fun....inexpensive and useful!

One kit I found had a bunch of stickers included....

I printed Holiday Gift Tags on them....classy and very cheap!!!

The Heavy Folders are great for hiding all the "little" coupons and "stuff" on my bulletin board!

Here are a few quotes that I have been saving to use when I get around to it!

Feel free to use them....for your own personalized stationery!

Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History!

Some of us are becoming the men we wanted to marry.


She who leaves a trail of glitter is rarely forgotten!

Playing dress-up begins at age 5...and never truly ends!

Take My Advice.....I'm Not Using It!

A woman should be two things: Classy and Fabulous!

Style is the perfection of your point of view!

Fashion fades, only style remains the same.


If you don't have anything nice to say, come, sit by me....

So...I challenge you to get creative....

AND

to send some SNAIL Mail once in awhile!

Have a Great Day!

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Crab Cakes and Scallops...YUM!

This was dinner at Sweetwater last night!

Doesn't it make your mouth water?

I LOVE Crab Cakes....

I often order them at restaurants....and am sometimes disappointed by the way they taste!

Sooo.....I learned how to make them at home!!!

Here is my go to recipe adapted from one I found on line!

 Sweetwater Oven Baked Crab Cakes


2 Containers of Philips Crab Meat
(1 lump crab and 1 claws)

8 Ritz Crackers crushed

1/3 cup Mayonaise

1 egg

3 chopped scallions (white and green parts)

1/4 cup chopped red pepper
(2 of the little poppers from CostCo are perfect)

4 Sprigs of Parsley chopped finely

2 Tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning


Bread Crumbs

Mix all this together into a fine mess.....

Go ahead...get your hands messy...

Form this into 6 nice sized cakes....

Cover both sides with fine bread crumbs....

Place on a baking sheet that has covered with about a quarter cup of Olive Oil....

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 10 minutes....flip them and bake for another 10 minutes.

Increase the temperature to 325 degrees and bake each side for another 5 minutes a side.

Oh....Yum....BUT!

The real trick is in the special sauce.....another Sweetwater Creation!

Just 2 Simple Ingredients that together are an amazing complement to the Crab Cakes!

Jimmy's Thousand Island Dressing
Harry & David's Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish




 Jimmy's Dressing is a mildly sweet 1000 Island Dressing...so if you can't find the exact thing keep that in mind.

The relish is also sweet....and I have found others in the Gourmet aisle of the grocery store....

Here is the Carmelized Scallop Recipe that I have been using ever since the Sweetwater Daughter served them this Christmas!  This is a screen shot of the recipe on Christina Ferrare's Website.  Click this link if it is too hard to read!

It is simple to adapt the recipe to the number of Scallops you have....

It is almost never fail....

I do have to say that I dip BOTH sides of the scallops in the sugar...but don't tell Christina.

And the cooking time is exactly right for the last 10 minutes that the Crab Cakes are baking!

The best part....

there are Crab Cakes and sauce left over for lunch!






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Goodwill Find Sparks Craft Room Reorganization

Most of my Goodwill shopping ends up being clothes and small household items....

Case in point....
 this cute yellow rain coat I found a couple of weeks ago has really come in handy during this Spring of NON-STOP Precipitation.....it is almost bright enough to cheer me up when it KEEPS raining/snowing/raining!   But enough about the weather already!

Now....on to the Goodwill furniture finds that are inspiring my Craft Room Reorganization!

I spied these two furniture pieces 2 weeks ago.....
One low storage bench with bins and one bench with 2 drawers with an open shelf!

They were in almost perfect shape.... just one bin missing and a small scratch on the top of the other....
They match the other furniture and cabinetry in the craft room....
The price was right....both pieces for a total of $27.00!!!

They didn't  fit in the car...
so Mr. S agreed to go pick them up in the BAT (Big A** Truck)!  
He took the receipts and headed to GW....great....right?
Well....
not so great...

.I sorta forgot to tell him WHICH Goodwill I bought them at....ooops!
A phone call and a little!!! grumbling later and my new storage pieces were happily home in the Sweetwater Garage!

 I spent some time putting together a wall unit of sorts by combining some other pieces of furniture.....right now it looks like this.....

All those shelves, bins and drawers just waiting for some reorganization.....
AND...  since IT IS STILL RAINING..... that is how I am spending MY Saturday...

playing with my new storage!

What about YOU?
I hope that it is nice enough to go play outside at YOUR house!

Have A Great day!