Hi - from your want list I have ornamental pepper and also rudbeckia triloba [prairie coneflower] for your tall zinnia. Doreen.

Thanks guys! I thought they were aphids. I have a thistle problem from hell. Didn't help that I was out of commission last year for pretty much the entire growing season. The new house next door was the old neighbours yard and garden. When she passed it sat unattended for about 6 years. So many thistles made their way over the fence (or under the fence). If I can't get the round up to them I at least cut the tops off before they flower.

We have also been plagued by thistle. Has been an ongoing battle for the 20 years we have lived on this property. I can't comment on the effectiveness of clear plastic as a 'thistle killer'. Have never tried it. Seems like a huge (and perhaps futile?) undertaking when large areas are involved. Cutting and/or mowing the area frequently will eventually stunt or slow its growth. This method is not always possible, depending on the terrain involved. If you are not opposed to using chemicals as a control, a broad leaf weed killer, labeled for thistle will work. Must be used according to the label and used more than once. A one-time application will not kill/control thistle. If almost no other vegetation exists in an area except thistle...reseeding heavily with grasses after the broad-leaf herbicide will help build turf over time and be a deterrent to new thistle coming in from the dormant seed. An area of well established thistle that has been there for years will be an ongoing problem. It has reseeded for years and the seed will remain dormant forever...or so it seems. Each time the sod is disturbed a huge new batch will appear and will need to be attacked with vigor. Good luck on your battle. Jan

It seems completely unlikely to me. Thistle stems die down every year so even if it were theoretically possible to graft to them it would be pointless since by the time the graft took the stem would die anyway. Secondly, Artichoke and Sunflower have much thicker stems than thistles so even if the hypothetical graft worked it would stunt the scion. As for squash - no earthly chance as they are totally unrelated. But no one says you can't try.