I think your best substitute for stachys might be a hardy geranium. Many to choose from, but the bigfoot geranium, Geranium macrorrhizum, and its cultivars might be best because of its thick weed suppressing foliage. One downside is that you may have to buy more of these than you would of a more spreading groundcover. Fun plant. Leaves have a lime soda or some say apple scent when crushed. You will get some decent fall color. One variety is variegated. I love these cranesbills. Truly these are great plants. Your only problem will be whether you like the flower color with your scheme. I find mine finish blooming before my coreopsis gets started, so that may not be a problem. You might also consider Heliopsis 'Helhan' a.k.a. Loraine Sunshine. Yellow bloom. Mine receives compliments for its leaf varigation, which is what made me think of this one I also think that the Hosta plantaginea idea would work. I pretty much limit myself to collecting fragrant hosta. All fragrant types trace their lineage to plantaginea. All rank very high for sun tolerance and really need sun for best fragrance. Many fragrant hostas have been Hosta of the Year--'Stained Glass', 'Guacamole', 'So Sweet', 'Fragrant Bouquet'. Hummingbirds love them, too! And my plain green ones get nearly full sun without missing a beat. And for something sort of opposite to hosta, have you given any thought to sedem? I'm just beginning to explore these guys, and am sort of lusting for a dark purple foliage variety--either 'Black Jack' or 'Postman's Pride'. As with most perennials, I'm sure they'd work best in a mass planting. Could really pick up on purple flowers and make any gold or yellows really stand out Hope that helps Wellspring

I love doing jigsaw puzzles and never thought of taking a picture of the finished project. LOL My friends and I do puzzles all the time. I like the Springbok puzzles from Hallmark the best but have done others. My favourite puzzles are "mystery" puzzles, the ones you don't have a picture of. LOL I never look at the box when I am doing a puzzle either - takes the fun away. I just got a 1000 piece puzzle on sale at Hallmark for half price and it is sitting on the kitchen table waiting for me to start. When I have lost a puzzle piece and I know I am going to do the puzzle in the future or lend it out I take the the small section of the puzzle where the piece is missing and lay it in the lid of the box and then I outline the missing piece so I know what to look for when doing it again and know that a piece is missing. I do the edge pieces first and then I start from the bottom and try to work from left to right half way up the puzzle then I do the upper half when the bottom half is finished. Anne

I order a lot of puzzles from Bits and Pieces Catalog. I order as many as 10 at a time and have them sent directly to my very limited income sister-in-law 2 states away. When she is done with them, I pick them up and do them. When I am done I pass them to a neighbor. When she is done, she donates them to the VA hospital. Another very good source is White Mountain Puzzles. Check out the link. Here is a link that might be useful: White Mountain Puzzles

Hello. I love puzzles and 500 pieces is my favorite size. I may be interested in a puzzle trade once I build up my supply again during the upcoming garage sale season. I couldn't figure out how to private message you, but f you are still interested in trading and know how to message me, please do!