Newbie gardener needs some encouragement

I'm just feeling a little discouraged about my progress this year. Many of the things I've transplanted don't seem to be thriving. My dad gave me some daisies, coreopsis and purple coneflower from his yard and they are all looking sickly (altho I do think it's because he sprinkled fertilizer over them after he dug them up; he didn't know better). Columbine & astilbe that I planted are not doing well. Bunnies & squirrels are eating my tomatoes despite my best efforts to keep them away. Something (insect or rodent) is eating the leaves off my mountain bluet. My peonies have brown burnt-looking spots on their leaves, and they didn't bloom. My clematis is scrawny & hasn't bloomed. My sweet peas that I started from seed seem to be stalled and also seem to be getting too much heat/sun. I've tried making a little shade for them in the afternoon by putting a plant stand next to them but I'm afraid it might be too late. My soil is poor in many areas and I'm plain out daunted by the amount of work it's going to take to amend it this fall. So that's my rant . . . I know gardening takes patience but I'm using most of mine up on my two toddlers these days. Please send some positive vibes my way!

Sending positive vibes right now! Don't let the first year discourage you, perennials often take a year or two to really get going. There's this saying for them...first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap. Some of them will take off faster than that, but in their first year they're sometimes struggling against transplant shock, or working to get their roots established, so you won't seem much "action" above the ground in many cases, and depending on how stressful the transplanting was they can often limp along for much of the year and look pretty sickly. But if you can baby them through this year, each year after this is going to get better and better. I suspect that's all that's happening with most of your plants. Except the sweet peas--they don't like hot weather, they're more of a cool season plant though so even once they're established they won't typically look their best this time of year.

jcoakley:

Insead of amending your soil, go to raised beds.

That is what I did as I am now the proud owner of 1 acre that is nothing but CLAY! So now that I get to start gardening again, I went out a purchased the best top soil/sweet peat/leaf humus mix (10 yards) and started creating my beds. It is working out great as I've never had a bed that was so easy to pull weeds from, there is such good drainage that I now how the joy of having to water when we don't have rain..... LOL

So don't be discouraged, just think what you can do now to help them through the rest of this growing season and then next year think about getting some new soil brought in.

I had always heard that when starting with gardening if you don't have good soil, buy the very best to start with and it really does make a difference.

Back in Kentucky we had a mix of clay and soil so some places ok and other not. Now I have this beautiful bed.

There is always hope, don't give up.

Janet

J, it will turn towards better. Don't give up! I bet each and everyone of us have a tough one in the garden, at least once. You have wonderful helpers here, and you learn so much`from them and from your garden. Happy optimistic thoughts sent your way!

I was told it would take about four years for a garden to get "settled", before then you're just working on getting everything set up.

JC,
We've crossed paths in several forums here and I think we have the same problem in that we are "new" to serious gardening. Without intentionally meaning to step on anyone's toes, I don't think any special skills are required to become a gardener.

Experience allows someone to become a good gardener. While I hum-haw around in fear of making mistakes an experienced gardener jumps in and gets the same project done. Their experience gives them the confidence I lack.

Patience, as you mentioned, plays an important role. I see a plant ailing and run to DG to start a new thread for a sure-fire fix. When I get a suggestion I run out and try it, sleeping well that night because I know I did my part. When I look at it the next morning nothing has changed. Oh my god, I think. What was that other suggestion offered? Should I try it too?

I think ecrane3's message is very helpful. The plants have been babied in a greenhouse till ready for shipping. They have to "toughen up" and adapt to the real world we have thrust them in. Some are going to make it and some aren't. We'll know next spring which ones did.

Judy and I planted over 100 plants this year. All of them perennials. We started two new beds and enlarged two. Three we added plants to fill in bare spots. We've lost three-quarters of the plants shipped bare root and none of the sown seeds came up. I'm convinced the root of my failures is my inexperience. The cat scratching some of the bare rooted ones out of the ground makes me feel a little better about myself. *grin*

I told Judy before we started in May not to expect much this year. We've been pleasantly surprised to see coreopsis, astilbe and now the penstemon bloom. The butterfly bush that's supposed to get 6-9 feet tall is a mere 18" but it at least looks bushier than the two 6" stems when it arrived. zhinu mentions it takes four years for a bed to settle. With my usual lack of patience I'm still hoping for three.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is nothing.
Gary

Even without greenhouse issues, my mom started a bunch of decorative grasses for me this year, and due to not looking at the weather report, I lost about half of them when I transplanted.

I have an additional issue with what I'm trying to do. I have bad soil, no way to personally compost, and no money to fix it. I'm trying to pick plants that will help with the soil, survive to do so, and that I can get from family, friends and scrounging. It's really discouraging at times though.

Thanks so much everyone! I am feeling SOOO much better today. I was out in the back yard with my 3 year old this morning, and while she played I inspected. I decided to take inventory of all the successful, thriving plants I have, and there are quite a few! Big gorgeous daylilies, hosta, & iris. New but thriving heliopsis & pachysandra. Healthy sedum & penstemon, as well as lots of colorful annuals. In front I put in an oak leaf hydrangea which is growing great, and I also have a beautiful healthy red bud.

So Janet, is doing a raised bed really that simple? Piling on the top soil & peat, etc? If I can get DH on board to help me with the lifting of the bags, that doesn't sound too bad. Would you suggest doing that in the fall after everything dies back, or wait until spring?

Gary, are you the one who asked about starting a forum for Chicago/IL gardeners? Someone suggested the ORVG forum as a "home" for us, but I looked at a map of the ORV basin, and we are definitely not in it. Still not sure where to go . . . where do you go?

Thanks again, everyone. I knew I loved this site.
Jennifer

Maybe you'd fit better in the upper midwest forum?

I'm in the Chicago area and post in the Upper Midwest forum, there's quite a few others from around here that do too! We'd love to hear from you....

Postive and happy thoughts coming your way from me too jcoakley ^_^. Sometimes it hard to stay up when things aren't looking well and the amount to be done can be overwhelming. KUDOS to you for taking the time to garden when you're caring for two toddlers! I need a nap just thinking about it. I find its easier to think in baby steps when I have big projects (like soil amendment or building new beds). Perhaps just work on a few areas this fall. If I have a set back I just think about what I've accomplished so far and Look at you go! New transplants, tomatos and seeding too! I sthink you're hooked ^_^

Yeah, Jennifer, I'm the one who asked about starting a forum. Technically ORVG is closer to me geographically than any other forum but most regulars live in a climate zone higher. I hang out in Hummingbird/Butterfly and Hydrangea forums since most of my plants were purchased with hopes of drawing birds and butterflies. I've got two Endless Summer hydrangeas. I hang out in General Chat also. The attitude there is free-wheeling and hilarious at times. It seems no matter which forum I wander into I find good people who care and are willing to help if they can. If they can't at least they are kind.

Gary

Glad some rays of hope are blooming for you with your garden.

Last year I did a trial and I mean a real trial, I found out that the guys digging at a neighbors house had the drum truck filled with their dirt and needed a place. This was so last minute decision and I've not regretted it once. This year the flowers have been incredible. The soil (free) wasn't the best just more clay like I have but I put 3 big bags of peat moss into and they (even though the deer were eating them) most of them came back this year. Bee Balm is almost 5 foot tall....

So this year when I decided to bring in the good dirt (thanks uncle sam for sending some of my money back to me) oh check out my thread I started in garden design. " Finally, I get to start my front yard makeover". I've not posted for some time but it shows what I did and it most certainly was a learning experience but one that was good as now I know better what to do and not do...LOL

So yes to me it really is easy to just start creating a raised bed.

Janet

I am taking the lazy way to a raised bed. I have clayey gravel and sandy gravel. Nearly all of it is on a 45 degree slope. I have built walls a foot + tall around the beds and have put all of my shredded oak leaves in them each year along with what dirt I can find and all of my old potting soil.
It is working wonderfully well. After three years of this, some of the plants need to be lifted a bit as they don't like to be so buried, but everything looks great.
It is important to do this in fall/winter so that there is time to rot down to dirt before the growing season. this spring I had 3 - 4 inches of the leaves left on the high side and way too much on the lower side. I had to remove a bunch and use it as mulch around the shrubs and trees. I just try to bury/turn over as much as I can in the fall and then add to it thru the year. I am finally seeing dirt everywere in this bed.

Hi JC!!!! I'm glad you are here! Do not give up! Things will get much better, we all had to start somewhere, we've all lost a plant or 2 ,or a bunch, lol, along the way. Just think of it as a learning experience. Things like bad weather, weeds, and bugs are just a part of life, we get used to that too. My first year with my garden (i'm on my third season with this one) I planted lots of annuals for color. My first year creepers are now becoming leapers. This is a labor of love, a love that strenghtens, and endures. It will pay off and when it does, you'll be glad you did it, you'll be proud you hung in there!
As for coneflower and daisy, they do that for a while, wilt in the heat, look like they are dying, couple weeks they snap out of it. Don't let them dry out , but don't overwater, they will be fine, they are garden troopers!
Give yourself a pat on the back and don't stress it too much! It will be great, I swear!
Happy gardening!

PS. Come on over to the ORVG, it's more like a tri state deal, but everyone is welcome, we even have a Texan! :D

Baby steps, baby steps. Here is my goal for this fall: raising the small beds in my front yard, dividing and transplanting one large hosta, and moving some daffodil bulbs. There, that seems doable. Then in spring I am going to plant hollyhocks & bee balm in the front, as well as a small flowering tree of some kind. I am also going to divide my backyard daylilies.

Janet, you mentioned bee balm . . . did you plant yours in the spring? The place I may order from says it's available in the fall, but I don't want to order it for fall if it needs to be planted in the spring.

Thanks again, everyone!

I planted mine last summer and this year it jumped in height. I now getting ready to cut back so I can have another run with blooms. As a matter of fact I'm getting ready to cut back and a ton of things so I have a second round of blooms.

Janet

Next time you feel discouraged about your gardening check out this thread over at Daylilies "Ugliest Daylily Contest" - it's a hoot! Even experts have complete failures but they have a very good time laughing at them!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/861789/

Ok tyro, I'm bookmarking that thread! My daylilies were all here when we moved in and I have no idea what they are. Nothing fancy, just bright orange and bright yellow. I want to dig out and give away probably 75% of them to make room for some other varieties. I now know what NOT to try . . .

I now know what NOT to try . . .

There you have the best in gardening education.

I think one of the hardest lessons to learn as a gardener is that your yard has different zones within the same area. Full sun - dry , moist, wet. Part sun/part shade. Full shade wet and dry. You get the picture. And just because you think a plant would look excellent in a certain spot doesn't mean it has the same idea. I have a 10 ft full shade garden. Right in the middle I have a 1 ft area that is full sun. You wouldn't believe how many plants I tried that died before I caught on to that. The 1ft area only gets about 2 hours direct sun, but it is mid afternoon sun. So I have relented and planted the area in full sun demanding plants and they have taken off. I agree with others when they say transplant shock. When I get a transplant, I always set it up in a pot and allow it to establish roots for three to four weeks (sometimes longer) before placing in the garden. This way I can give it TLC before it goes to a permanent spot. And then watch the plant and transplant if it shows signs of not liking the "neighborhood".

I put new plants in pots and baby them to get them going too.... I lost so many new plants before I figured this out! I'm lazier then Adiantium, though - after a few weeks of babying I put the pot in the intended planting spot for a couple of weeks to make sure it doesn't keel over from the amount of sun or shade before actually digging a hole and putting it in the ground. I just have to remember to go out and give it extra water while it's still in the pot, I've forgotten sometimes and managed to lose some that way!