A rose is not just a rose

I received a phone call the other day from a friend I hadn't spoken to in quite a while. She told me that her grandmother had passed away. I listened as she shared some special memories of times spent with her grandparents. What treasures those memories are! It seems her grandmother had a climbing rose bush beside her house that was very special to their family. Apparently, over the years most everyone in the family had their picture taken beside that rose. Now the house is to be sold and they want to divide the rose so that they can each have a start in their own yard. I gave my friend some practical advice about how to divide the rose. I'm sending up a special prayer to my garden angels that the rose will survive. For that matter, I hope the family survives the dividing of the rose bush! Moving those old climbers is like wrestling a bear. My Granny has one growing by her porch and I've pruned it a time or two for her. I asked her one year if I could have a start of it. Of course she said yes and I lovingly dug up a start and planted it along my fence. Several years have passed and that blasted rose is the bane of my existance! I hate it. It's only saving grace was that it came from Granny's yard. She asked me about it last summer and I told her how the old thing came up everywhere. It spreads under ground and you can't pull it up without looking like you've been attacked by a gang of alley cats. She laughed and laughed and said , 'I've hated that damn thing since the year I planted it'! So much for sentimental value! But it's the memories we cherish, isn't it? I remember Granny's rose from when I was little. It's little pink flowers were so dainty. Not anything like the unruly old gal she's become....the rose bush, not my Granny!
We had a little false start on Spring here in Indiana. After a few days of high 60's and 70's the temperatures dropped and now it's been raining....you know, that cold drizzly rain. I'm hearing from the weather man that it supposed to stop raining and warm up over the next week or so. I have a big project to work on at the elementary school garden so hopefully the weather man is right this time.

Name this plant contest!

A few years ago my grandma called and offered me a start of a plant she had growing in her yard. It took me a few weeks (and a few reminder calls from grandma!) but I finally stopped by and dug up a little clump. Grandma didn't know the name of the plant but she told me that she had gotten her start from a home that she had lived in many years before. I'm ashamed to admit but I can't remember if she

said it came from her parents or grandparents or her in-laws. I wished I had listened more closely to grandma that day. She passed away last fall and I really miss her a lot. When I was little I remember going to her house and seeing the roses and bleeding hearts and snapdragons growing around her yard. We never had flowers growing at my house so it was a treat to see grandma's flowers. I think my grandpa actually planted most of it. I remember the roses the most because they were always so big and gorgeous. Grandma and Grandpa are gone now but I'm glad that I have the plant that Grandma gave me. Problem is...I have no idea what it is!

It's a low grower staying under 6" with white 5-petal flowers. It blooms throughout the summer with a big flush late in spring. It's a steady spreader; filling in nicely and making a nice underplanting for other plants. From the last picture you can see that even when not in bloom the foilage stays pretty and green. So I need some help from my garden friends. If you can identify this plant I will send you a nice start of it for your own garden. If you need more information to help with identification you can ask questions by hitting the 'comment this blog' link and I'll get back with you. Good luck!

***AND WE HAVE A WINNER! MY FRIEND, LORETTA, SAYS THAT THIS IS ANEMONE, SNOWDROP WINDFLOWER. I DID A QUICK SEARCH AND I BELIEVE SHE'S RIGHT. THANKS, LORETTA. I'M SO GLAD TO BE ABLE TO PUT A NAME TO THIS VERY SPECIAL PLANT BUT I THINK IT WILL ALWAYS BE CALLED 'GRANDMA'S FLOWER' TO ME! I'LL GET YOUR PLANT TO YOU AS SOON AS IT WARMS UP A BIT.

My favorite plant of 2008

My favorite plant last year was my 'Tiger Eye' Sumac. It had a pretty rough beginning. I picked it up in the spring of 2006 at Elsburys. Like most plants, it didn't do much that first year. In the early spring of 2008 it was only a couple of stubs sticking out of the ground. My dogs thought that I had planted them a chew toy tree and they worked it over pretty good. I guess they got bored with it and finally left it alone. Once it warmed up a bit I could see new growth coming on. It took off pretty fast; filling out nicely. I have it planted as a specimen plant just as you enter my back yard planting area. The color really catches your eye as you enter the area. It almost looks like it's lit up. The green is a brilliant, almost neon color. I used black mulch last year which really set off the color. I didn't have any trouble with pests which is a big plus. During the garden tour last year this plant got the most attention and had me wishing I had labeled it because I can't tell you how many times a visitor asked the name of it. Now, early spring 2009, it's back to being a few sticks coming out of the ground. Luckily my dogs haven't rediscovered it. I'm really anxious to see what happens with it this summer. Hopefully the old adage, 'The first year they sleep, the second year they creep and the third year they leap' rings true for my sumac!

The Grass is Greener in Brown County

Tanner and I took a little trip to Brown County this week. We spent a couple of days at the Brown County Inn and did some exploring and a little shopping. The first thing I noticed was the difference in the grass. It's green in them there hills! And the Magnolias, Mock Orange, Forsythia and daffodils are all blooming. It was a nice little get away. We even mangaed to do a bit of fishing at Brown County State Park. Didn't even get a nibble!
Of course I had to stop at one of my favorite greenhouses on the way down. Elsbury's Greenhouse and Garden Center in Hope, Indiana is a great place to spend the afternoon. They've made a few changes since I lasted visited. The herb house has been moved and is exceptionally organized and labeled. The perennials were still inside one of the many hoop houses and they looked great. I think the first trip to a nursery each year is like seeing old friends! They have a great variety growing. According to the spring newsletter Elsbury's buys over 100,000 rooted cuttings, 60,000 unrooted cuttings and 150,000 starter plugs. They will produce 20,000 potted geraniums, 7,000 hanging baskets, 23,000 potted herbs and on and on it goes. Additionally, each time I've been there the service has been exceptional. So do yourself a favor and take a little trip south on highway 9 to Hope, Indiana. Say 'Hi' to Dave Elsbury for me.
The trip to Elsburys leads me to my first confession. Yes, only a few days from making my annual vow of not buying more plants until blah, blah, blah....I bought a few plants. But it was Elsbury's! Not too many. I picked up a bleeding heart (Dicentra) variety called 'Burning Hearts' that is more tolerant of sun than other varieties. I also grabbed three pots of Dianthus 'Fire Star'. A beautiful red variety that grows up to 8" and blooms from Spring to Autumn.
So there you have it foks...in record time I've broken my annual vow. Now it's time to find a place to plant these babies!

First Day In The Garden 2009

The first signs of spring...tulips and daffodils poking their little heads up, buds swelling on the trees, birds singing, AND THISTLES GROWING!! Yes, it has started already. After school today the kids were asking if we could start gardening. Well, knowing that this won't last through the season, I took them up on it and we started pulling weeds. And thistles. The bane of my existence. How I hate those little suckers. We finished up two small areas so the weeding season has officially began. The kids lasted about 10 minutes which was fine. They did a good job and I don't want them to think of gardening as a chore. They'll learn that on their own! As for me, I already know it's a chore. Especially when it comes to the thistles.

A blog is born

Welcome to The Thistle Patch! Finally, I have a place to document my garden mistakes and musings. The Thistle Patch is located in a small town in Indiana. Friends that have visited my place will attest to the fact that I live on a thistle patch. Left to their own devices the thistles in my yard would take over the world. Fortunately for them I am a terribly lazy gardener and they are often left to their own devices. I've even been known to play on the sympathys of my friends so they will help pull up the boogers. But no matter how often they are pulled or sprayed they always come back. Sometimes you just have to go with what you're given so I'm embracing the thistle patch....from a distance. Anyway, if my yard were picture perfect it wouldn't be nearly as fun.
This is my first blog so be patient with me. Come back often and check in on the comings and goings. I'm easily distracted so I'm sure I'll go off topic fairly often. My garden style is a mish mash of this and that so I guess that's a good style for my blog also.
I guess this would be a good time to make my annual vow. I do it every year and every year I'm just sure that this will be the year that I actually follow through. So here it is: I vow to not buy any new plants (except for my container plants) unless and until I have a spot already picked out for them. Further more I vow that if and when I do buy more plants I will promptly plant them in their new spot and will not let them sit on my concrete driveway and shrivel away.