Anyone else’s garden looking a bit crap this year?

[Coppertips]

I’m thoroughly fed up with mine this year. Nothing seems to be thriving and it usually looks glorious in the summer.

My rose has got rust, no apples on my Apple tree, slug damage everywhere, even my best fern is looking shabby.

I’ve lost quite a few plants in the last 12 months with last summer’s drought and the cold spell in the winter.

I feel like I need to have a rethink about my plants/planting.

I'm reasonably happy with bits of mine, but oh my word, the slugs! It's been an awful year for them. I'm really sad that my veg is all awful. Last year I had loads of gorgeous pumpkins and squashes ripening at this time - I love them; they're so cheerful and pretty - and this year I have one. The slugs keep eating the cucumbers before they're anywhere near ripe, and they killed all the beans and peas. It feels really miserable.

Other things are doing ok, so there's enough to be happy about, but it has been an odd year, for sure.

Yep. Courgettes were planted out early so at least June's sun gave me crops but then the rain hit and between the slugs and mildew... I planted loads of pelargoniums as they're usually slugproof but they just haven't had enough sun to flower well. Can't win this year.
Lost 80% of my agapanthus overwinter so my usual borders looked really sad too.

I have no apples on my tree either and my garden has been invaded by large orange slugs. My courgettes are rubbish - especially the green ones and I only have one tiny pumpkin. My cosmos and zinnias, dahlias, rudbeckia and gladioli are happy though.

Oh, yes, the lack of sun. I usually have loads of sweetpeas. I have had about five or six stems of flowers. I love the smell of them and it feels as if something's missing from summer.

Yep. Lots of plants just haven't thrived this year. Apart from the nettles..

My garden is almost completely shaded. So no sun hasn’t had much effect. Everything is green and lush, but possibly not as many flowers as usual.

And a Sorbus “Joseph Rock” is dying. Not sure whether to take it out or to leave it and grow a Clematis alpina over it.

Oh, sorry it isn't just me all, it is so disheartening isn't it. I don't grow veg anymore so mine are just miserable looking flowers generally.

@Heronatemygoldfish agapanthus are one of my favourite plants, 75% of mine flowered but I've lost 75% of my verbena bonariensis, long established plants that were huge. Also lost a really rare variety salsify plant (as did the grower who hadn't seen it since the '60s until four years ago).

Is it big @MereDintofPandiculation ?

I'm a taker outer but then my garden is quite small.

Mine is a mess partly due to the weather this year and partly as I have been super busy and neglecting it. So much slug damage. Usually my dahlias are lovely this time of year but the slugs destroyed them. Weeds, however, are flourishing....I think I am giving up for this year and planning for next year now.

Bits of mine look lovely and lush but the geranium rozannes just didn’t take off. They normally get so huge and floriferous that they take over half the lawn but they’ve put on a very half hearted display. I’ve got loads of them as usually reliable and slug proof so that made a real dent.

I did plant lots of stachys which look lovely but are obviously providing slug hotels as if you lift up the leaves there are hundreds there. But nothing in my garden is slug friendly so I’m not sure what they eat.

All of my usual beautiful rose bushes have been completely destroyed by caterpillars. Not a single leaf left on any of them. It was so quick too, one day healthy rose bushes a day or two later nothing.

Fairly clueless gardener here. Can I ask, I have an acanthus mollis that has been eaten by slugs for two years running - no flowers or even much growth at all. Does that mean it's a weak plant now and I should get rid of it or might it bounce back strongly another year?

The plants that seem to have done really well this year are sedum - so strong looking. Most other things have been a bit meh.

I have a May/June garden really, and I’ve always felt ‘over’ my garden by August. So for the last few years I’ve purposely bought dahlia tubers to help me feel better July-September. This years aren’t anywhere near as good as previous, but they’re still decent and are doing a good job of making me feel better!

Its been terrible, nothing is thriving.

My privet hedges simply haven't grown. The new leaves have remained tiny. Normally, they'd need cutting back by now but there's only about an inch of growth since they were cut in May.

The damson tree has fruited well but my other fruit trees/bushes haven't and my hanging baskets have barely flowered - normally, they're a riot of colour until October.

The caterpillars ate my box tree this year. I am usually alert but didn't inspect it enough at the right times because of the rain and bad weather.

On the plus side, its been a great year for butterflies and moths.

Indeed 🤣

We have had our garden renovated this year and it was only planted in June. It is absolutely glorious now. The mix of sun and rain has done wonders. I had a garden designer do it and she has planted stuff she knows will grow in my soil and in our climate (windy and coolish east coast of Scotland). It has been a revelation to me.

Do you have slug traps? We make our own - caught 100 of them (I joke not) in the rain yesterday night by the front door - we then empty the whole lot in the compost bin - dead slugs, the sugar, flour and yeast ingredients and then put rinse and reset it - we have at least two in the massive front garden and normally one or two in the back garden - they are the only things that save me from slugs

Slug trap here - if you remove the slugs it gives it a fighting chance
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8kzTfxX9Pk

My garden is so-so, and with the rain, wind, and lack of sun I have neglected it. I planned to be out there this morning, but it's so gloomy I'm sitting indoors on mumsnet instead.

Pretty much the only things looking decent in my garden at the moment are the sunflowers.

Yeah my garden looks all rangey and poor showing this year. I think it was wet and cold spring and then straight into heatwave that did it.

I don’t have a problem with slugs at the moment because I got out at night and kill the ones I see. I think the hedgehog has kept the rest of the population in check. My hostas have stayed munch free all year.