Brown thumb

I'm the first to admit I don't have a green thumb. I try my best - really, I do. But it just isn't my thing. My mom on the other hand is pure magic when it comes to plants. She's nursed more than one of my failed brown thumb attempts back to health.

Somehow I've managed to keep four or five house plants alive for the past few years. Thankfully most of the landscaping around our house come back year after year so I don't have to worry about them. Course, so do the weeds... but we just ignore those.

The majority of our landscaping are bushes or shrubs. Gus the wonder dog killed all my hostas. I'm still a little bitter. But this... this is my pride and joy.


This clematis was planted in the southern corner of our house when we moved in. While it's the plant I'm most proud of, it's by no means "high maintenance." The poor thing is lucky if I remember to clear away the previous year's dead growth in the spring. What can I say - gardening is not high on my priority list.

I did take pity on it a few weeks ago. It's a climber vine, and it's grown bigger and bigger each year. The poor little trellis it calls home is dwarfed beneath its weight. It's gotten so bad the clematis is reaching out to the privacy fence behind it for additional support. When I noticed it had gotten too big for its britches, I wrapped it around the trellis to give it a good start. And I tied it to the fence to keep it from drooping even more.

I noticed yesterday it had erupted in color. Just goes to show you, give something a little love and it won't go unnoticed. I have NEVER seen this many blooms! It stands about four feet tall and is nothing but flowers from top to bottom. And you can tell by the cones of tightly wound buds, there's a whole new wave to come.

Maybe gardening isn't so bad after all.