Laggards

Here are some problem children:
Peppers and eggplants - Just sitting there. Including some we bought as plants. Could be the soil in a certain part of the garden. It's basically an old driveway. And in Nahant, the driveways in a home this old were almost always composed of crushed clamshell. Add to that some coke - the residue of the old coal furnace - and some shale and it can be a mess. We amended it with compost and garden soil, but I suspect it's the culprit. We shall amend again.

Mexican sunflowers - We always take the package, catalog and garden book information with a grain of salt. Oftentimes experience trumps the printed word as far as culture and care go. Still when the seed package for the Tithonia "Torch" said "quick summer hedge," I was expecting more than 7" of plant by the end of June. They're healthy as heck, and in full sun about 6 hours a day. Everything around them is thriving.

Bulbs - We bought dozens of montbretia and freesias and threw them in in April. And of the 30 or so a total of 3 have come up. Could I have actually planted them upside down, a rookie mistake? We like to think not!