Lee-Roy-
I have had such fun following your posts for the last few years. I mostly lurk. You clearly dove in head-first, and have made an amazing transformation in your garden. It has been a tremendous amount of work for you.
Now you enter the next phase- the garden "bones" are in, and the process of finding out which plants will thrive, and come back each year without requiring too much care. I moved a mile, changing from sand to clay, and had to relearn a lot. Now at the nursery I just walk on by all the Salvias, agastaches, and daisies I cannot have. But I now have things that DO return. Also some things I had to try repeatedly-I have two Martagon Lilies preparing to bloom now! So look at what does well, plant more of that and other related species. It is also possible you are being too much of a "Zone-Pusher" for your northern location, where it really is chilly and gloomy and rainy in the spring. And spring is long there!
I would suggest a walk around your neighborhood. Write down what is pretty and doing well in ordinary gardens (NOT the garden where they clearly work at it 40 hours a week and use every poison available). Plant those easy things as your backbone plants, then try only a few that are "iffy".
Also do read about it-I have found only about 1 of 5 types of crocus I plant do well. I have no idea why. But now I have crocus.
Another reassurance-around here it seems that new gardeners are always overrun by moles and voles. Once the initial damage is done, a new equilibrium is reached. New tunnels do not appear. Same for slug damage-I find once perennials are established and bigger (usually takes one or two years) they grow so fast and vigorously in the spring that even without baiting, the slugs just cannot eat fast enough to kill them!
Keep at it-we are rooting for you!
