Mistakes

We've passed Memorial Day, the unofficial milestone marking the beginning of summer.  The season's entrance brings another milestone to my house:  the time I begin to realize the mistakes I've made so far this year. 

I've accepted this annual review of my gardening skills, or lack thereof, and quite honestly, I've begun to dread it a bit.  This year's count is rising rapidly.  Here's a quick summary, in order by rising frustration levels:

• The first mistake I noticed was an obvious one: leaving the hibiscus plants outside for the winter.  I knew it was risky, but, I thought that because they were planted in raised beds, immediately next to the house, and in the area where they received the most sunlight, and one of the plants had become severely root-bound during the previous winter, I would take a chance by leaving them outdoors. However, the hibiscus plants were tropical, and I don't live in zone 9.  It was an irresponsible decision, and this spring, no signs of life appeared in the raised bed (except for several weeds). 
• My carrots are not going to grow well.  The soil in which they are planted contains too much clay, causing it to become heavy when wet and hardened when dry.  It also appears that several of the seeds did not even germinate.
• I have ignored my mums to the point that they are about to bloom early.  I should have cut them back at least once or twice this spring; now it is too late, and they've grown long, stringy legs to accompany their early flowers.  They're like the poor relatives in the flower patch, abandoned while my attention is caught by the showy spring flowers or the exotic new plants I'm trying.  I don't like abandoning things.
• In the sunny raised bed next to the house, where the hibiscus met their chilly fate this winter, I planted canna lilies.  I was really looking forward to seeing those flowers; I wanted something bright, showy, and tropical in this location. I planted the rhizomes in late April, leaving room just in case the hibiscus made an appearance, and spread mulch on top of the bed. We did hit a cool patch of weather for a couple of weeks afterward, but it warmed up quickly after that.  We've had several days in the 80s and 90s in the last 2-3 weeks... and I'm still not seeing a single sign of the lilies.  Crabgrass, yes.  Lilies, no.  I have no idea what I did wrong.  And I'm disappointed.  
• The most significant mistake dates back two years, to the very origins of my vegetable garden.  Last week, for the first time, I realized that I may have placed both of my raised beds in the wrong location.  Besides the fact that they don't receive full sun after 3 p.m. or so, they also are in an out-of-the-way spot for pollinators.  If I placed the beds all the way across the yard, behind the flower garden (which is still under construction, but growing rapidly), the blooms on the veggie plants would see more activity than they do now.  In their current location, they are mere feet away from a large patch of weeds and poison ivy we killed this spring, and it looks a bit bare in there.  I will either need to plant wildflowers where the poison ivy was, or I'll need to move the entire garden this fall.  In the meantime, I've settled for planting a few cheap annuals in front of the garden, to liven up the look and hopefully attract butterflies and bees. 

My mistakes are probably the primary reason why, each year, I hesitate just a bit in the spring, before I get into full gardening mode.  I just don't like making mistakes, and I'm not sure many other pursuits will reveal your inadequacies to you quite as impartially as horticulture.  However, simply writing down these issues brings me some relief.  I'm constantly attempting to improve, and acknowledging that I've actually made a mistake is the first step to correcting it.  This fall, I won't pretend I live in Florida, and next spring, those mums are going to get the haircut they deserve. 

In any case, we are only in the beginning of June, after all -- plenty of time remains to make more mistakes this year.  For now, I'll just note the lessons... and concentrate on keeping those other plants alive.