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Jul 17, 2024
What was Your Biggest or Funniest Gardening Mistake?
The Wave Crew  Wave Petunias | Cool Wave Pansies

Mistakes happen – even to the best of us. Really, who hasn’t gotten into the weeds as a novice gardener? This month, we asked our Pink Pot Ambassadors: What is the biggest or funniest gardening mistake you’ve ever made?

 

What mistake haven’t I made LOL! In my previous garden I planted a ton of bulbs in containers but they went to complete mush due to frost thaw cycle. Lost all but maybe 12 or 16. Oh man, that one hurt. -@igardennow

 

The first time I ever planted peonies from bare roots – actually, probably $70 worth of perennial bare roots, I thought I needed to plant them 2-3 inches deep – like you would a bulb. I later learned, that the crown of the roots needs to be at soil level... because nothing grew. :) -@gardensandchickens

Woman with a questioning look with colorful flowers in the background

 

When I first started out, I didn't realize different flowers were made for shade vs sun. For example, I planted hostas in full sun. -@porchsidepetals

 

Well, I am always sharing my mistakes on my YouTube channel, so my followers are aware that I make them all the time, but I would say my biggest mistake was trying to kill off an entire large bed of plants and flowers by putting a thick layer of chicken manure and debris (from my chicken pen) on it in the Fall. Not realizing that by then everything was going dormant and wouldn't get burned off after all. All the plants I was trying to 'easily' kill off came back bigger than ever the following Spring. -@flowerpatchfarmhouse

Outdoor garden path among colorful flowers

 

I can confidently say my biggest mistake was setting up my veggie garden under the shade of 2 large oak trees, because I didn't want to be in the afternoon sun. My garden thought that was extremely selfish! -@broadwaygardener

 

The biggest mistake that I made in my garden was to start planning my annual flowers before the last frost. -@our.cozy.white.home

Bright pink flowers under a tree

 

Matt: Not really a mistake, but we purchased what was labeled as a baby umbrella grass, that was only supposed to get about 1.5 feet tall. Well it grew to almost 6 ft. tall and about 4 ft. wide. That was quite the big baby!

Aimee: Last year, I searched and searched for a particular color of petunia that I just loved and finally found it after a few weeks. Planted it up and all was well…then I noticed we had some pre-mixed fertilizer in a container from a previous year, and I don’t know why I thought it would be okay to use it on the flowers still. All of those petunias were dead within a day. Lesson learned! -@trowelanderrorgardening

 

I planted mint in a large planter with other plants not knowing that mint takes over EVERYTHING! Also, didn't initially realize how much water plants actually need. I thought a quick squirt of water would do the trick when in reality the dirt hardly got wet haha -@guimondgardens

Woman with flowers standing outside among raised garden beds

 

That’s easy – being too overzealous and taking on too much in the beginning. I would recommend starting off small, you can always add on. It’s a lot to care for, if it is too large and you are not prepared for it. -@southernhomeandfarm

Outdoor garden trellis with raised garden beds

 

My husband bought me a huge box of dahlia tubers (at least 50) for my birthday several years ago. He must have spent a fortune. It was my first year growing them and thought I could just wing it. Well I watered them like I do my flower pots. Picture it…excessive watering, clay dirt, in my hot and humid climate. It was a complete disaster, it didn't take long for them all to rot and turn to mush. -@wildwestgardeneringgeorgia

Black cat under a garden with colorful flowers

 

Alright, fess up and tell, but don’t worry there’s no judgement here! Share your favourite gardening mistake in the Comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!

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