Sorry if I came off as so negative with my advice, certainly you have gained a wealth of personal experience that has now elevated you from a "newbie" gardenener to one more experienced with the trials and tribulations of invasive weeds, and poor winter drainage. A bit more about using Roundup in case you didn't know: 1. Works best when bermuda grass has not been cut back, but is full and lots of surface foliage 2. Apply when bermuda grass is in active growth(usually once it has hit 75F temps for a couple of weeks 3. Roundup works best when you have consistent warm weather so that it actively gets translocated to the roots 4. When bermuda grass is invading from the neighbors gardens, you need to do regular weed patrol to keep on top of runners that spring up from under the fence, probably at least every couple of weeks About the annual bluegrass: 1. If you are planting out small seedlings that can't effectively compete with weeds, try cutting an 18 square of weed fabric and pinning down at the edges around any new seedlings, this is what is typically done with revegeatation seedlings/trees planted out in grasslands, they need help creating a clear zone so that they can get large enough to compete with the weeds/grasses 2. Mulching deeply to keep bare soil from being exposed greatly helps with inhibiting weed seeds that need light to germinate, such as the annual blue grass 3. If you are trying to reseed poppies and other wildflowers, you can keep smaller areas weedfree and scatter saved seed, but will need to be vigilant about weeding seedlings of weeds as they come up Watering new plantings; 1. Standing with the hose and giving things a splash of water just isn't enough with valley heat and small seedlings with their limited roots 2. Better to give things a really good soak twice a day if starting seedlings when the weather is still hot, and use mulch to minimize soil evaporation 3. You might consider creating temporary shade structures using bamboo stakes and shade cloth if you can't resist starting seedlings outside the ideal fall planting window 4. Ideal time to plant out small sized native species is in the fall, once it starts to cool off enough in your area that you won't be getting any more 75F and above days, this makes a huge difference in heat and water stress for small plants Drainage issues 1. You are absolutely right that if you didn't know how poorly drained your intended garden was going to be, you wouldn't have known that it would be a problem. 2. You now know that it may be worth investigating first before you start planting; ie, look to see if there are rain gutters or downspouts off the roof, where they drain, if there is enough slope to the ground that water can drain away, etc. It may also be helpful to ask the neighbors, landlord, former tenants, when you have a chance to do so, if there are any drainage problems with the site Weeds; 1. You now have the experience to be a better judge of whether your intended garden area is surrounded by weeds, and if so, you now also know that it is always a good idea to try and get rid of the stored seed bank before you start planting 2. Getting rid of entrenched weeds may mean using Roundup at the right time of year to effectively kill them(and use the full strength applications and repeat usage after clearing away killed weeds, watering for at least a couple of weeks to initiate new growth, wait until weed regrowth is at least a couple of inches and spray again. You may need to do this 3 or 4 times over 3 to 4 months to get rid of all the weeds. 3. It may be useful to cultivate/disturb the soil several times to expose weed seeds to light, hoe them off or spray with herbicide, and repeat several times if you suspect you have a real weed problem. This could even mean that you don't plant your garden until 3 to 4 months of weed treatment. Dogs and new plants 1. it may be preaching to the choir, but small plants and dogs who aren't trained to be careful around small plants, or don't get enough walks/excercise to keep from being bored when left alone all day, are not a good mix with new plantings, especially at small vulnerable sizes. It only makes sense to give the plants some protection from dogs if you can't mitigate their behavior, dogs will do what dogs want to do without work on your part. Maybe I have just been lucky with the dogs I have owned, but I started training them very young to be careful around the garden, and not destroy young or old plants. I also had the time to take them on long walks every day, and burn off all that excess energy, which is important when you have a labrador retriever. Now if I could just train the raccoons not to damage plants in my garden.. You have gotten some valuable experience in gardening by the "trial by fire" method, but it can also be useful to ask questions when you aren't clear on the methods, take classes, and keep reading up. Obviously there isn't just one way to garden, and I certainly don't claim to know all the answers, but over 40 years of gardening, over 30 years of them professionally, mean that I do have a very good handle on how to handle weeds, drainage, soil amendmending, etc to fit within the budgets and efforts of my clients, and can tailor solutions that will work within different circumstances. It is always about tradeoffs, and I am not against using weedcloth as a first line of defense to be set underneath deep mulch when I can't eliminate the weeds in the first place, it has been my only workable method to minimize bermuda grass and Oxalis pes-capri infestations when I didn't have the time or budgets necessary to really control them before new landscape plantings.

The picture that says "are they phlox or something else?" looks a lot like Physostegia / Obedient plant to me. whoever buys my place will probably scalp the entire 26 garden beds i have nurtured for the past 12 years and put in hardscape or a pool. breaks my heart, but nothing i can do about it Roxanna, there are things you can do before you leave your gardens - you can open your gardens to gardening friends or neighbors for give-aways, donate plants to a local or charity plant sale, sell or give away on Craigslist or Freecycle. People will even come and dig stuff up for you. Better than those lovely plants being scalped!

I'm gonna make an off topic suggestion here. Try planting a native shrub rose. I planted this cute little rose a couple of years back, Virginia's rose. Sometimes called 'Pasture rose.' Scientific name Rosa virginiana. Planted it in honor of a dearly departed friend and mentor named Virginia. Oh, I guess maybe sometimes the plant goes by Virginia rose. Anyway, you can only find it at native plant nursuries. Here's the main point though. That THING grew into a huge, sprawling, behemouth of a thorny BEAST! I had it planted along a fence and it was threatening to take over my entire yard and my neighbor's garden. I live in a tight urban area, this was the wrong plant for that space. It was a beast to get rid of it too. I gave some of the runners to the local arboretum. Anyway, it's native, it's gorgeous when in bloom, it's hardy (I'm still finding runners) can stand the hot, soil-limited conditions of my yard. I would plant this in a heartbeat if I wanted a thorny hedge for a large property. You can get it at Edge of the Woods Native Plant nursery, which is maybe an hour or so drive from you. Worth a trip if you are a plant lover. They have a fabulous selection and are so nice at helping you choose the right plants. They're right off 22 west/ 309 north in Orefield. Go to www.edgeofthewoodsnursery.com and check it out. Call first to see if they have the plant. There are also other native, fast growing, imposing hedge plant selections. Go to the Web site and call them or e-mail and ask for help. Louise and Sue are very good people to work with and fabulously knowledgable on this subject (deer hedges and anything having to do with landscaping issues). I have NO affiliation with them other than I have bought from them for years and know that they are quite a presence here in the Lehigh Valley. Here is a link that might be useful: Edge of the Woods Nursery

I had a heavily brambled area that was supposed to be a right-of-way. I tipped the hand mower up to a 90 degree angle and went for it. Grass established, the area also flourished with wild strawberries, devil's paintbrushes and a lot of other wild flowers. It was a lot more difficult than it sounds and worked out nicely. Most projects are not that straight forward though. What I see a lot of people do is start at the edges of the property and work their way out. I love woodland gardening! Depending upon the situation, you can probably cut a balance between... maintenance, progress, urgent issues and final goals. For maintenance, a lot of people have it somewhat clear around the house. I would be sure that this part of the property is set and work my way out. Progress is starting from maintenance and working your way out. Where I garden, I only have a small patch of woods. My brother has a much larger patch. It is really interesting being right with the plants if you are not too much in a hurry to get everything cleared. I have lots of plants that come back every year that are really wonderful. I can give a whole tour any time of the growing year to point out interesting plants. The children love to hear about pokeberry and how the pokeberry ink was used to write the constitution. The thing is, all different kinds of plants will become obvious during the year. Trilliums (my brother has these) are so lovely! They can get completely lost in a rushed clearing. I start at the edges and remove trees, brush and brambles that are invasive, diseased or crowded out to unhealthy have some of the nicer specimens flourish. Sometimes even a broken dying stump as artistic value. I have gone to garden areas where they have done wonderful things and photographed the stumps! While clearing, I am watching for those lovely surprises by my feet. Trilliums, wild lily of the valley, star flowers really make the place a special home! Urgent issues may come up from time to time. My brother has some wetlands, and wetter property in his woods. He did find it necessary to go on a project to clear out some trees and concentrate on important issues. He had to remove a lot of the Virginia creeper that was choking some house stomping sized trees. This year that is his largest concentration. Final goals can be considered at every point of the project. Even while working on urgent issues, if you have discovered some native or desirable plants, you can probably stick a few in the ground so they can be populating. While clearing, you can be making the path, if you are thinking about a certain route through the woods. I grew up where there were several paths crossing paths through the woods to get to special places. I could branch off towards different springs, to the abandoned quarry or go directly to the pond or visit a friend. Gardening is an ongoing project. I would keep it to enjoyable levels. A couple years from now you will sit back and enjoy your artistic endeavor and think about how you would never arrive.