*warning for whiney content :)

I would like to share some of my recent losing battles. I thought I had studied hard and done everything just like I was supposed to. I must have missed something; I am hoping y'all can tell me where I went wrong...

1. "Deer resistant"... the deer have recently eaten my four-nerve daisies and my bulbine. These plants are still babies so I figured maybe they are just young and tender? Or do I have starving deer? I put some cages up over the bulbine and they are coming back just fine, but the deer are still interested in them. I think the four nerve daisies will end up being okay too...

2. "damianita will grow anywhere"... Well, I think my damianita is dead. I bought several and planted them on a slag pile that is the stuff that was dug out when I had my new septic tank put in. The planting area is a mix of big rocks, dirt, limestone chips, caliche. The damianita were struggling but alive until the torrential rains this week. I have watered them about twice a week since planting. Now they are brown and withered and laid over on the ground.

3. This is the worst. I had a truckload of dirt brought in Feb. I spent 2 months moving the dirt by hand by myself. I built a beautiful slope where there was once only jagged cliff. I planted rye, fertilized, and I put railroad ties in front of the slope to protect it from runoff. I packed dirt under the edge of the railroad ties and set them at an angle to send the water away from my slope. I even set up a rock line a bit further up the yard to slow down running waters. The rain got to my slope after all... about a third of it washed out. I'm including picture. For those of you who are in the city, the pink and green stuff at the bottom of the picture is the new septic system.

I guess it's all about trial and error, right? Thanks for reading.