Help-garden Advise Needed.

[kateyes]

My mom who was an avid gardener passed away last summer. I have moved in with my Dad to keep him, the house etc going. No problems with the house--but I am not a gardener--I have always had a black thumb with house plants--never tried outdoor gardening at all. Dad remembers some things no otheres. I live in Michigan. I did get the Dahlias and Gladiolas out of the ground last fall (wood chips were not good for storing them in-so some of the tubers didn't make it through the winter. The ones I planted didn't seem to do as well as I remember them in the past. Is there some secret I am missing? There is a bearded iris bed--I am keeping it weeded and watered but again it doesn't seem to me like there were as many blooms as the past. Is it a no-no to mulch the iris. There is a large 30' by 90' plot Mom called her English Cottage Garden. Flocks, Rubecia, asian lilies, day lilies, coreopsis, autumn joy, butterfly bush, english daisies, monarda, and some others I am not sure of. I mulched but still have tons of grassy weeds--do I have to keep trying to pull all those or is there something I can spray with? I think I may have pulled up some things in the spring that looked like weeds but were really plants--because I think there are some flowers I remebber from the past that didn't seem to come up. There is a bunch of rhubarb in one area (half of this used to be a vegetable garden till it got to be more work than Dad would do) I do remember Mom saying she had tried to get rid of it but it just kept coming back. Any way I did divide a few hosta and put them in and around the rhubarb so when the rhubarb dies back that isn't just a big blank spot. There were hibiscus that didn't make it through the winter--should I have covered those? There are 5 smaller rose bushes--I covered last winter with rose cones--but could use some advise about what to do this winter--I had to trim them down for the cones to fit--and something tells me I am not supposed to keep doing that. I know these are David Austin roses--because I gave them to her for Mother's day one year.The peony bed seemed to do fine--it looked about as I recall it in the past, but is there something I need to do to make sure it stays that way. There is an herb garden--that looks kind of wild--I think I am keeping the weeds down and I did mulch it as well. There is a shade garden with astilbe, hosta, and heleboris which seems to be doing fine--no mulch but since it is just pretty much those 3 plants I am doing okay with the weeding.. Something is eating the impatiens that are in pots scattered around. There are 3 large pots that I put geraniums in because she always did. Can I bring those inside to a sunny window in the winter--or do I just let them die and start with new plants in the spring?

I know this is alot of questions--and believe me I have so many more. I have to be honest and say I don't get alot of enjoyment out of gardening--I am not a warm weather person, I don't like the bugs, even with gloves I am making a mess of my hands and nails. The thing is Mom really loved her yard, she put alot of time and effort into it and I don't want to just let it all go.

I haven't even touched on the lawn care. There are shady areas where the grass just doesn't seem to grow--I am thinking of dividing hosta and filling in those areas. Is that a reasonable idea. Dad has a rider mower-and does that--I am doing most of the trimming (I don't know if Mom always did that or if Dad just isn't doing it. Any way I am trying to come up with some ways to cut down on maintanence. Any suggestions, tips, and general advise would be greatly appreciated.