Q: I enjoy spending time in the yard, working with my plants, but I don’t seem to have a green thumb.  I don’t like the everyday plants you see in most people’s yards, so I try different plants with different looks, but most times they end up dying.  What am I doing wrong?

A: Well, it’s hard to say exactly what might be killing the different plants you’re working with.  Sometimes it can be too much water, other times not enough.  The plant can be in a location that’s too sunny, or too shady.  Every plant has it’s own special needs, and if you aren’t familiar with those needs, you can quickly become a serial killer of plants.  This is particularly true if you like to stray from the well-worn path of Hostas, Spireas and the like.  But don’t get discouraged.  I can just about guarantee that I’ve killed hundreds more plants than you ever will, and will continue to do so.

Why kill plants?  I’m not making a conscious effort to kill them, it’s just that sometimes I like to push the limits of a plant.  Dr. J.C. Raulston, one of the more famous American horticulturists of our time, once said “You’re not stretching yourself as a gardener if you’re not killing plants.”   So I use my own yard as a laboratory, seeing if a microclimate in a certain part of my yard is just warm enough and protected enough to be a good home for a laceleaf Japanese Maple, or some other plant that is just on the edge of winter hardiness in our area.

So while I don’t have specific answers for you and your plants, I give you kudos for having the courage to stretch yourself as a gardener, pushing the horticultural envelope in hopes that you’ll have a garden like no other in the neighborhood.  Just make special note of the needs of the plants you’d like to use, and place them in an environment that best fits those needs within your yard.  They may require a little extra TLC, or a winter blanket to keep them warm.  Do what you can to provide those things your plants need, keep a journal of the things you’ve observed, and learn from your mistakes.  That’s all a gardener can do.

Good luck!

This article originally appeared in my local paper, where I was the resident landscaping expert, periodically answering reader questions about plants in their landscape.