My first forays into gardening

My maternal grandmother has long been a gardener. For her, I think it is both a joy and a catharsis. My mom occasionally plants flowers, but isn't much into it, and the greatest connection with plants I remember was a project to grow grass in a hydroponics tank in junior high.

After helping my grandmother with her garden during April and May, and watching my best friend's parents work on theirs, I decided to try it out. My mom had a free packet of bachelor button seeds and I bought some dusty millers, with the reasoning that I like both the colour silver and fuzzy plants. I also bought an astible bulb and two seed packets which accidentally had water spilled on them; none of these sprouted. (One of the seed packets wasn't set to bloom until next summer, but I fear - in my very limited knowledge - the water may have ruined them.)

We had a very dry early July. I watered the plants about every other night, which seemed to work for the bachelor buttons, but I think hurt the dusty millers. We've had more steady rain since the end of July and I stopped hand-watering; it's only now that the dusty millers are truly starting to grow.

I'm a bit disappointed with the bachelor buttons. I'm happy they lived enough to bloom (I must not have a black thumb after all!), though the blooms didn't last as long as I'd hoped and they seem rather weepy. (Not enough water?) The area where all these are planted is rather root-ridden, with perhaps 4-5 hours of sunlight a day. I'm sure the soil's not in the best condition, either, and I didn't do anything to it other than throw in some composing dirt I procured from the backyard.

I'd like to plant a perennial in either the bachelor button or dusty miller's space for next year, I think. I've always liked bleeding hearts, and hyacinths have a special emotional meaning to me due to Greek mythology, but I also want something easy to care for that will thrive in this space. My list of other possibles (both annuals and perennials) from internet searching is: coleus, lobelia, impatiens [my grandmother's suggestion], larkspur, snapdragons, cockscomb, English bluebell, lungwort, hellebore, turtlehead chelone, and lamb's ear [I've loved these since I was a kid; they're the plants that feel like velvet]. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them. Same for general gardening tips.

Some photos behind the cut. Not too bad for a beginner, I suppose. It wasn't a negative experience (as I plan to do it again), and a good reason to get outside and develop patience, but I feel I could have done better.

( My tiny newbie garden. )