I have posted a lot of the successes in my Summer 2022 garden and I like to show off my beautiful tomatoes and plants on my Instagram (check it out here). However, as with everything on the internet, I am just picking to show the good things. The truth is I have had many garden fails this year. While some fails are out my control (can’t control the weather or the birds that like to visit my garden), two garden fails stand out because they are things I could have prevented.
Here are my 2 garden fails for Summer 2022:
1. Failing to Label. This may not seem like a big deal. But trust me it is. I have two plants I have no idea what they are. I am pretty sure they are flowers, but the plant never actually flowered. I don’t know what the plants are, so I don’t know which seeds they came from if I want to try planting again. I have no idea how to try to help these plants because, again, no idea what they are.
Worse are the seeds I planted and forgot to label what I planted and where. I would go into the garden to plant a few quick seeds, and I would think to myself I would remember where I planted the seeds or that I would write down in my garden journal. However, I didn’t do either of those things. Then, I had several seeds that never germinated, so I don’t know what I planted where or which seeds may not be good anymore. Since I can’t remember what I planted, I don’t know if I should wait another week or so to see if something does grow.
2. Failing to Research. I was so excited this summer to purchase a hydrangea shrub. I think hydrangeas are the most beautiful flowers and remind me of my wedding, as I had blue hydrangeas in the table center pieces. I bought a small plant, put it into a nice pot and placed on my front porch. I did not have any plants on my front porch and thought it would be a beautiful addition to my porch.
Well, I did no research on hydrangeas. The plant ended up being in full, direct sun all day and basically burned out. I had no idea the porch got so much sun! I later did a little research and realized I should have placed in a shaded area. I have now moved the plant, but I am not sure how well it is doing.
Normally, I love doing research on plants. There are so many amazing resources online- from articles to YouTube videos. However, this time, for some reason I didn’t do any research besides reading the label that was on the plant pot. This was a huge mistake I won’t repeat.
Conclusion
Don’t make these mistakes. Buy labels and put them in the pots or in your garden. Or, keep your garden journal with you and jot down what you are planting. Also, do your research when adding a new plant!
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