The Failure Garden

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where the expectation was that it’d be 60 degrees and raining all the time. This made gardening a pretty easy affair. Most stuff didn’t freeze, and it didn’t get hot enough for tropicals, and the sun came out so rarely that if you skipped a day or two or watering, it was no big deal.

Out here in Ohio, my gardening efforts have been rife with failure. I’ve planted annuals too early in the season, and had them burn in the frost. I’ve planted what I thought wer...