Hang in there & I hope things fall more in place for you! Best wishes!

Hi kali !! I think we have all been there , especially when starting at a new home . And it's so easy to have big dreams and quickly get brought back down to earth! Honestly there will be areas you love and areas you keep re doing til you do love it . I will say it sounds like a white shrub rose would be better than a hybrid tea ,(JFK) but you can plant perennials around them to create a lush look by your driveway. My favorite is catmint.

As for the bagged peonies , they will need a season or two to get going . I also always fall for those in the spring ( usually the daylilies and lily bulbs get me). I bought boxed columbine from sams club and man they were disappointing and I don't even like the colors! I was just desperate for spring in February.

The rose of Sharon love sun and will be fine . Just give everything new a couple years to settle in. They say first year sleep , second year creep and third year leap and that's pretty true for a lot of plants.

Take lots of pics so you can remember how far you have come! And little notes here and there are helpful .. things you may want to do next spring or plants to divide or add .

I made a lot of mistakes here and I had been gardening for years ! I can't believe the dumb things I've done. Namely , having someone come with a tractor and "scrape" the top layer of sod ( with all the fantastic top soil ) off so I had a ready made bed. He didn't have a tiller and I just wanted a huge bed made, well I lost almost all my roses there as they dwindled from lack of good soil . It still is terrible soil but my roses survive now. But I'll forever kick myself for it !

Make sure to take time to enjoy your hard work and soak in what is doing well ! And share photos here ! Keep us updated!

I like to rearrange roses at the end of winter, when the ground is workable but the roses are still dormant. If I time it right the roses don't even notice they have been moved! I dug up my mini rose bed this past Spring and three of those roses produced trophy winning blooms--Queen, King, and Picture Frame.

For years I had a weeping cherry in the middle the front yard, a real waste of full sun location as it never looked very good. I moved it to the edge of the yard in the middle of some hydrangea and azalea plants--after a few years it now looks better than it ever has! The front yard now has lots of big hybrid tea roses. But, I wouldn't recommend you do that as most HTs are very high maintenance plants in New England--it takes a lot of work to make them look good as garden plants. But, my work has paid off. I won "Best of Show" at the New England Rose Society shows in 2016 and 2017 with sprays of HT roses.

You may want to become a regular in the New England forum. You are going to have a lot more questions, and there may be some shockingly local people there.

Really good advice in all these posts; I especially liked Moses' and Lilyfinch's comments (I still kick myself for taking out some big trees, though it's true that they were in pretty awkward spots,so Lilyfinch, I can relate...) Remember, making a garden isn't like interior decoration or something similar. Gardening deals with living things; the plants grow, and you grow, too. Like any aspect of life, you don't always "get it right the first time"; au contraire! "The joy of gardening comes not only in arriving at the successful
conclusion of a project, but in the process of getting there. Never
forget to savor the trip." These words from Moses' post are very, very wise. I also agree with zack that HTs might not be the best choice,especially since I got the impression from your post that one of the things you are aiming for is to create a sort of "landscape" around your new home, and I don't really think of HTs as being the best plants for that sort of thing. Also agree totally with mad_gallica that the New England forum might prove a precious font of help and inspiration.

I often feel totally overwhelmed,too, and know from experience that it is not a pleasant sensation. Again, I can only second Moses: take it easy! Best wishes!

Hardest thing about gardening for me is the patience required for things to grow (especially roses) and the lack of control you have over so many factors (weather, pests, plant genetics). But it is so rewarding when things grow and bloom.

I agree with catmint for instant effect, also try salvia, but heard they both can over run beds too. Another instant effect is Japanese maple which is beautiful even when they are small. My other fave ground cover is artemisia silver mound.

I also try to have evergreens so that there is something to appreciate in winter. Camellia, boxwoods, creeping juniper, hellebores.

I buy my peony tubers online to get specific cultivars and more mature ones that bloomed within a year of planting. Otherwise it might take over 3 years.

My garden is just going into it's 3rd year here. I had gardening experience before that though. But every location is always a learning curve. I know how you feel about wanting things to fill in and look more mature. Do not make the mistake of overplanting shrubs, roses & perennials just to fill in. Space your permanent plants accordingly, then plant annuals to fill in the big blank spaces. It will give you the instant gratification you seek. And when the seasons over you don't have a mess to move around. Roses are great but they take longer than many perennials to put on size & repeat bloom. That's why I plant other things to be flowering when the roses are resting. I have also learned that some roses just don't grow the shape or size you want, whereas other ones will surprise you. I have been experimenting more in my backyard than my front. I wanted my front yard to look neat & tidy, but full. My backyard is more mix & match, plop in here & there. And to be honest my backyard is more full & colourful. I also have bought about 60 different roses, after a few years - I will be deciding who stays, who goes & who gets multiples. I will not put up with plants that underperform.

Kali your post made me laugh because I know exactly how you feel, I can totally relate! We also bought a house in zone 6 central Mass almost 3 years ago and it's also my first home! Yep, not thinking about sun requirements got me a few times, also planting shorter plants behind quick growing tall perennials in early spring caused me some frustration last year, my first year. I've been thinking the same question as you, is my experience normal or am I just really not good at this?

I'm starting to think that a lot of gardening comes down to experience, not just in the planting and tending but in watching the plants grow and understanding/experiencing their lifecycles, how and when they will shoot up, how and when will they spread, just having a sense for what plants will do, which I just think takes time, a lot of time!

Another tricky part of this, and everyone says this, is that plants act differently in different situations. I have found that I can really rely on the advice from gardeners not just in my zone but also in my area because we have similar climates. So I would definitely second the suggestion of frequenting the New England forum. Also, including CT or MA in searches helps.

Another thing I would recommend is growing from seed next year if you've never done it. I did it for the first time this year and through all the potting up and hardening off I learned a lot about different plants this way, plus I have free flowers!

Cali,

If you like white roses (in light of you bringing up your JFK rose bush), give a look at:

Sugar Moon

Pope John Paul II

Bolero

Milwaukee's Calatrava

Earth Angel

••••••••••••••••••••

JFK is known to be rather tender in our zone. It may present winter survival issues.

Moses

What I love about gardening IS the mistakes because if they are big ones it's a chance for me to try something new and if it isn't a mistake and turns out great, I am proud of how far I've come. The great thing about gardening is it's yours and yours alone and you decide how you want it to look. I've made many a mistake in my yard starting with pouring wildflower mix over the entirety of my front yard and a few of those flowers were invasive weeds that I had to battle with when changing my yard to a more "put together" aesthetic. You sound like you know what you want and like, and just remember to be patient because everything will come along. Like Lilyfinch said take pictures because it's hard to know how far you've come after months and months of slow growth. I keep a grow diary with pics and write notes on the plants. I write notes on future plans as well. In the end I like to sit back and relax because there are no rules only zones for me when it comes to plant selection. I will plant a part sun/shady plant in a full sun spot in my yard and just plop a hydrangeas paniculata tree in a pot next to it to give it that shade. I mean, when I say there are no rules, the sky is the limit especially when you own your own home! Remember you can always create little microclimates with trees as well. Everything you've done so far sounds great to me. Especially your future plans!

Don't worry about it so much. Gardening is an evolving process and should be thought of as such. Just because something isn't perfect right now, doesn't mean it can't be dug up and moved. I've always believed that you have to live in a place for a long time and study it before you finally realize what it's meant to be...

Don't get discouraged. You have to start somewhere. I've been living in our home for 25 years and I still make mistakes, move plants around and plant new stuff. I think of it as living art. More than anything, have fun. You'll see that in time gardening will become a passion - it has for me.

Congratulations on your new home and new garden! It's always a big thrill.

As for your garden...deep breaths. Relax. From your description it sounds like you started big, which makes things a bit overwhelming. This is a natural feeling and I'm sure it has happened to many, many new gardeners (even with small gardens!) it certainly happened (and is still happening!) to me.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Don't be in a rush to cram plants into every little space to make things look full. They grow, and sometimes far more than expected. Your sparse, new garden will be overcrowded in a hurry. If you feel like spots are not filled in enough, put annuals there for now until shrubs and perennials can take over. BONUS: most perennials need to be divided every few years and so you'll get free copies of your plants to fill into other parts of your garden.
• This is new for you. Plants will grow differently in different conditions, so for now consider everything an experiment. Some plants will thrive. Some will fail. Some will grow way too big and you'll have to make changes. Others will struggle and you may have to move them. In my first 6 years of gardening I have had to move or replace so many plants it is ridiculous. Right now I am dealing with a Bee Balm that was supposed to grow to about 3x3. It is currently 5x6 and is a monster eating up my middle border. So this fall it will get divided and I will have to think about moving it to the back of the border. Live and learn.
• Try not to get too attached to plants or think that making a change is some kind of failure. It's not. Remember: this is still an experimentation phase. If something isn't working or if you think something else would work better, make the change. BUT...remember that perennials and shrubs may not really show you what they've got for a year or two or even three, so have patience.
• Peonies often don't bloom in the first year or two. Make sure they weren't planted too deep! If too deep you may not get much bloom.
• Roses are often scraggly the first year. Once their roots get better established then they will have an easier time getting water and nutrients and will look a lot, lot better.
• Big gardening jobs are usually easier if you break them down into smaller jobs. And try to incorporate some of the work into your routine. For example, when I let my dog out into the backyard each morning I spend a few minutes inspecting my roses for pests, diseased leaves, and doing a bit of deadheading. A few minutes of this daily means come the weekend I don't have a gigantic job ahead of me. It also gives me an excuse to enjoy the flowers!

Best of luck to you, and feel free to post some pics!

Welcome to the rose forum and you'll find that we are all currently or have been enthusiastic at the level I hear in your post about your yard. I echo the feedback you've been given to sit back and enjoy what you've done so far. You'll want to spend time appreciating your yard, and by observing it for a year or so you'll discover what works and what doesn't work for you. For instance, you mention Pinata as an experiment and that's totally fine for a first year. Just don't fill your entire yard with experiments before you see how the initial ones turn out.

All garden plants, and particularly roses, take a while to settle in and grow the way they'll eventually grow in your yard. A common beginner mistake is to plant things too close together and then spend the second year moving things as they get to their full sizes. Roses take at least 3 years to settle in to their eventual size and state, four years if they're climbers (like Pinata). Some roses will overwinter fine for you in Michigan even though they're not "supposed to" and some will die on you even though "everyone else grows it", so make your own conclusions though we're happy to provide advice about best bets of new roses to plan for next year based on what works this year. I don't find that most roses do much for me in their first year or even two as far as blooms, so consider this time to set down roots and grow more canes in preparation for more blooms in further years. First year sleep, second year creep, third year leap is a mantra for patience with roses.

By all means share your enthusiasm here and know that we share it! Just take time to appreciate that "dang, I'm a GARDEN owner" not only a home owner. Enjoy the experience and plant some annuals in places where you want short term pizzazz for the time being while you're observing the rest of the yard.

Cynthia

Oh wow! Thank you everyone so much! I truly appreciated the wonderful advice, your stories about your own mishaps, and words of encouragement. It really made me feel much better and think of this in a whole new way.

i have really enjoyed being on this site, the people have been so welcoming, bright and helpful! I am definitely going to take all the advice, especially about enjoying what I've done so far, not over crowding, utilizing the New England forum (which I never knew about!) and just slowly experimenting.

I also have been keeping photos of the progress of my garden so far! When we moved in it was pretty gross. Really just lifeless bushes and weeds (the previous owner traveled a lot). But here's my progress so far! (Fair warning, I know some people hate red mulch, but it's my FAVORITE, I just love the contrast with the green of the plants!)

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/84713158/thumbs/first-year-garden 

thanks again everyone :) id also love to see the progress you've all made in your endeavors!

You should really get a soil test--and test the drainage where you plan to grow roses. Soil and climate conditions can vary quite a bit over very small distances in New England--the huge "clay pot" of my back yard is really quite different from just about everyone in the local rose club, but I have seen similar conditions in a large private garden near the NY/CT state line.

I'll have to look into a soil test with a local university (I think Amherst does them). I did notice that even different spots in the yard seem to be very different. Some of my gardens are super dense clay, some are clay and lots of rocks, others have been a much lighter/less dense clay or even loamy looking!

Kali, all of this is totally normal. My best suggestion is to WAIT. Your roses are all babies, and will take 2-5 years to really come into their own. I would just wait and see how they do, how they survive the winter, how they grow, etc. before moving any of them. Gardens are not instant things ("just add water and stir") - they take time to mature. I would just take notes, and watch and observe.

Good news is that you have space to garden, and sun! Clay soil is not a tragedy - eventually with lots of gardening, applications of mulch, etc. it can turn into what is called "clay based loam" - one of the best kinds of soil there is.

My conditions are completely different from yours, so no specific advice. However, what I would do is:

1) Look around your neighborhood and see if there are any gardens you like. Ask the gardener for suggestions, if yes.

2) Find the closest Rose Society, and go to meetings. Rose folks are very friendly, and can give you advice about what does best in your local conditions.

Good Luck!

Jackie