*I need some advice PLZ?!*

*Hello, I have just planted my first flower garden on May 20th, 2009, 1st question I have is...how much do you water your flowers? I heard you are supposed to water your flowers very good when you first plant them but how long do you do that for? When using the finger method, if your finger comes out with soil on it (Not soaked) is that good enough or too much water used? 2nd question...my gerbera daisies have started to get brown patches on them??? :( I have heard this is because I water them with cold water and pour the water on the leaves...is this true?? What water temperature should you use on your flowers? 3rd question...I have Miracle-gro Shake 'n Feed Continuous Release All Purpose Plant Food that feeds up to 3 months (Haven't used it yet)..is this good to use on my flowers and when should I start to use it?? And do I just use a dime sized amount for each flower?? 4th question...Do you have to fertilize them, how much do you use, how often, and what is the best kind?? 5th question...I have mulch around my flowers...should the mulch come right up around the flowers or not?? And will my flowers still be able to grow and spread out with the mulch over top?
Sorry about all the questions but this is my first time gardening and I want it to be right and have a beautiful flower bed! Thank you all in advance!!* ;)

I am in Ohio, Zone 5b
I mixed my flower bed with the original soil from the ground, Miracle-gro potting soil, and soil conditioner.

My flower bed consists of:
*Gerbera Daisies (White, pink, neon-like orange, and neon-like pink)
*Regatta Lobelias (Blue and white)
*A New Guinea Impatien (White/pink mix)
*Persicifolia Blue Bellflower Campanulas (Purple and white)
*Peace Hybrid Tea Rose Bush (Yellow edged with pink)
*A Pink looking snow bush flower??
*And a few others I'm not sure what they're called

Hanging Baskets:
*Gallery Dahilias
*A Regal Geranium
*Noa Blue Legend Calibrachoas
*Scopia Great Pink Ring Bacopas
*Scopia Gulliver Blue Sensation Bacopas

Generally, the rule is to water deeply once a week. With hanging pots that would certainly mean until the water runs out the bottom, but i would water hanging pots about twice a week; they dry out much faster.

You are going to need to pull the mulch away from your plants in order to fertilize them. It will be really hard for the fertilizer to reach the soil if you just sprinkle it on top of the mulch. When you're finished fertilizing just push the mulch back around the plants. I don't know much about Gerber Daisies, I've never had any luck with them. Follow the directions on the fertilizer for amounts needed, and try to work it in the ground a little around the plants before you push the mulch back around them. The hanging pots will need more water than the plants in the ground. Except for the Rose, you have mostly annuals planted. They won't come back next year. If you have a Lowe's near you, start checking the stressed plant area. Sometimes you can find nice, big perennials cheap. They just need some TLC. If your spot is half-day sunny, pick up a couple daylilies. They will spread fast and come back each year for you. Keep an eye on the rose bush. Bugs like to chew on the leaves. There's a rose dust you can buy to get rid of the bugs if they come. Good luck and enjoy your garden.

It doesn't matter if you water using cold water, the temperature of the water isn't what causes problems with leaf spots. There are guidelines around what time of day is best to water--if you live in a humid climate and water in the evening, then the leaves can stay wet for a long time which encourages fungal growth, so it's recommended to water early in the day when the leaves can dry out more quickly. The other thing that can cause fungal problems on your leaves is if you're using overhead watering, the water can hit the soil and splash back up onto the leaves carrying fungal spores with it which can lead to leaf spots. If you find you have some plants that are prone to getting fungal leaf spots, then you need to be more careful when you water them so you don't splash water back up onto the leaves.

As far as the mulch--it's best to leave a little space between the base of the plant and where the mulch starts--otherwise if you pile the mulch all around their stems it can encourage rot.

And for fertilizing, if you just planted these on May 20 I would probably wait a bit before you fertilize--it's best to let plants get themselves established a bit before you start fertilizing them so I'd wait a couple more weeks before you do that.

Woodspirit has good advice around watering deeply--it's best to water plants deeply but less frequently vs a shallow watering every day, but the frequency at which you need to water deeply may be different depending on your soil, and will also vary throughout the year depending on how warm it is outside, etc so you'll need to do some checks yourself to see what the right frequency is for your garden. And when you have newly planted plants, they will need to be watered a bit more often than once your garden is established.

I am not a beginner gardener, but certainly no expert! I concur with the advise from the above - if you water deeply, you need not water but maybe once a week, even less if mother nature takes care of it for you. I think I only watered my beds twice last year, but it took a couple hours to do it. Also, I have a watering wand that I put on the end of my hose. I NEVER wet the plants themselves. I also find that buying perennials after the bloom time is a great idea, I've saved a lot of money at home depot that way. They come up the next year, and in a couple years you can divide! Also, aesthetically, always plant in odd numbers - 3 is better looking than 2. My husband likes the looks of potted plants, we have them all over outside. I find in the heat of the summer I need to water them every day. I am just down the road a piece in Buffalo, I think our climate is about the same.