How's It Growing?

Rewind to a couple of weeks ago. I went out and purchased a set of plants from the nursery of a large chain store, consulting the plant caretaker along the way. I came away with the necessary materials and the enthusiasm to plant them. That night I set everything up, spending a few hours with my hands covered in potting soil. The act of planting is something I find relaxing, I've found. I love the feeling of dirt on my hands, surrounded by the beauty of nature. I was quite happy with the end result.

Fast forward to this past week and the plants are all essentially dead. Though I mentioned that the plants I was looking to purchase needed to be able to withstand four hours of direct sunlight a day I was saddened to find that these plants did not fit the bill. Things started to go downhill fast, even though I was moving the planter around the patio so it could stay in the shade after I realized that the direct sun was scorching them. I changed the amount of water I was using. I tried tip after tip online. Alas, it was not meant to be. I have learned a lot this time around (and after further investigation I've learned that the Dahlias each had a bad case of root rot when I brought them home so not matter what the conditions they would not have survived). I feel more comfortable with gardening, the act is no longer so intimidating. I've learned the things to watch for when picking out a plant (make sure the soil isn't too wet, if the plant has a white ring right above the root system it most likely has root rot).

I've been debating on how to share this here. Did I want to keep my blog only for my successes and triumphs? In the end I decided to go with what is most authentic. To keep this true to myself and my life I need to share my failures too. To share the lessons I've learned from my mistakes. This was my first real try at gardening and I am not going to give up now (though I will be using a different nursery this time). I will go in armed with my new lessons, a little less naive of the process.