I don't mean to scare you. When I read your original post, it sounds like you had a vision near the bottom where you itemized 1-4. One and two sound like you had a comfortable direction. The post seemed like you worked together with the landscaper to form a "vision" and then started implementing it. It now sounds like it was much looser than that, so there is a difference and with that difference there is reason to believe that you can have better results. You asked if I am a design professional. I am a registered landscape architect. "However, you scare me a little bit, Laag....as a novice gardener I wouldn't expect that the execution would be immensely difficult. Depressing to think that a lovely plan on paper could be spoiled in the brown-thumb hands of the wrong person." Implementation of landscape plans is actually highly variable. A layout plan of plant placement may not be that way so much, but you have a lot more in the mix than plant placement. You have topographic changes which brings a third dimension that spurs off a number of other issues. Sticking to just the aesthetic parts of those issues, you have the steps, terracing, retaining walls, and how the elevations affect how the plants visually interact (which is very different than if they are in a flat plan). A very good design can be drawn that takes all of this into account. But having that good design does not get you out of the woods just yet. The execution is very dependent on the ability of the person to layout the plan. It is much more difficult to do on varying terrain. That is not really easy for people who do it all of the time and is quite difficult for someone who has never done it. That is an area where a good plan can be horribly compromised in the implementation. Let's say that both the design is good and the layout is done accurately. Now we have the sculpting of the terrain to deal with. This is not easily drawn on a small scale plan with contour lines and very difficult for inexperienced people to convert from lines on a piece of paper to the actual contour of the ground, so a lot may be left up to the person doing the work to try and make it work. Let's say that is done well. Now you have the actual construction of the steps. You may have some well drawn construction details that show you what needs to be done, but a lot of garden designer's are not experienced in drawing up construction details and the added ability, time, and liability would drive the design cost up. But let's say the designer has provided good construction details. You still need the skill set to build them. Some things are fairly simple to do such as forming and pouring concrete. But putting together a stone wall takes more than being able to read a construction detail. It takes real skill. It is true that a not all walls have to be masonry masterpieces, but there is a point where rustic crosses the line to crude. Crude will detract from the intent of the plan. Let's say that the skill set to build the walls and steps are good. Now we can move toward planting. A #5 Nikko Blue Hydrangea might be called for on the plan. If you call three nurseries and have them each ship you one, will they all be the same? I can tell you that it is unlikely that they will be based on my own experience. This means that selection of a nursery can impact the implementation. Let's say you have found a good nursery. Now, plants are living things and they are handled at nurseries. This means there are variations from one plant to another. Someone has to know which plants are the healthiest, the right shape, and otherwise the best choice for this particular job. This does not mean that any other #5 Nikko Blue is not going to work, but it does mean that it adds a quality variation in implementing the plan. Let's say that we are able to do this very well. Our land form is shaped, steps and walls are well laid out and well crafted, and our beautiful plants are on site. Now there is the digging of the holes. Some will make them bigger and some will make them smaller. Some will amend and some won't. Some will amend with xyz and some with abc. Some will bury them 2/3 and then water them in and finish burying them after the water subsides. Others won't water them in at all. So, yes, implementation of a plan can take a great plan and turn it into a lousy landscape. ... or not.

Well, there's actually quite a few things that can look like scorch. Where are you located? Here in the PNW we have a virus disease called blueberry shock virus, and the symptoms look identical to blueberry scorch. The only difference is that scorch is fatal, and shock isn't. Shock will knock all the flowers and a lot of the leaves off, then a couple of weeks later, it'll leaf back out and be just fine. I think it's also on the east coast. You can have a virus test done to determine which it is if you don't want to wait to see if the bush leafs back out or not. Mummy berry and botrytis flower infections can also look a lot like scorch. I recommend you send some samples off for testing. Contact your county ag extension service to see where they recommend you send them. And if they can't help, post here again and I'll try to help you.

My plants in the raised bed are nearly 5 years old now, The one in pots are between 2 and 3. The ones in the pic in the square pots are chandler and brigitta(bred in Australia), in the round pot is a dwarf raspberry called ruby beauty in Europe and known as shortcake in the US. In the raised bed there I have Berkeley, bluecrop, spartan and Goldtraube all northern highbushes. I got plenty of berries the last 2 summers, I never weighted the pickings though. So far I never changed the potting mix in the beds , I mulch heavily every year or two, and I repot in to bigger pots once every year or when the root seem to have grown and filled the old pot. I'm not familiar with that fertiliser however seems like a good choice and a good combination of organic and inorganic, plus I see it contains sulfur,ammonia and fe sulphate so it will lower ph too. Over here it's not recommended to fertilise late summer or autumn , but I don't know what's the climate in Melbourne is like. I m sure is lovely in the summer that you can grow southern highbushes and rabbit-eyes. i don't know what seasol is. And finally, I m not an expert Alec. I started just like you, I have killed my fair share of plants due mostly to over love and too much TLC. In fact as I was repotting a toro bluberry last week, I noticed that the root was tiny but the bush had grown like a weed last summer with new bull shots everywhere, maybe I over fertilised it and I m not sure if the root system will catch up or the plant will succumb. Your sunshine blue looks very well, the legacy one on the other end not so good in comparison, if the root ball is not damaged it should be ok. You are definitely on the right track and are getting a nice collection of plants this April. Soon you'll be collecting a lot of berries mate, but don't rush it I hardly got anything the first 2/3 years.

Some of those dark splotches look kinda weird. Sal is most likely right (as well as the pot being too small), but most symptoms caused by water show as tip burn first. Some of those leaves are dying from the middle. But probably a watering issue.