The things we got wrong
This is a log of the mistakes we made—and the ones we caught before they became mistakes. Not a list of things we did right, but a record of what we learned the hard way.
The reader gets a way to judge the work: if we’re willing to name what didn’t work, we’re willing to fix it.
Most sites hide their failures. We publish them because the only way to trust a garden guide is to know when it led you astray. And because the next correction might be yours.
Three we had to fix
Three failures shaped this site more than any success. The first was a mistake that went live; the second was one we almost missed; the third was a method that worked in theory but collapsed in a real garden.
All three were caught by the same person—because the people who fix mistakes are the ones who read the most carefully.
The log of corrections
- 1Wrong seed-starting depth chart
The chart in our ‘Spring Planting Guide’ said to bury tomato seeds ¼ inch deep. In reality, they rot at that depth—tomato seeds need light to germinate. The error stayed up for six weeks before a reader in Michigan emailed us a photo of their moldy seed tray. We pulled the guide, rewrote the chart, and added a note: *‘Tomatoes need light. Dig a trench, not a hole.’* Bridget Hollis
- 2Compost ‘myths’ that didn’t compost
Our ‘5 Fast Compost Methods’ promised banana peels would speed decomposition. They don’t. The piece went viral before a subscriber—a master composter in Vermont—pointed out that peels slow breakdown by attracting fruit flies, which then kill worms. We deleted the section, replaced it with tested methods (shredded leaves + nitrogen), and added a warning: *‘If it smells sweet, you did it wrong.’* Bridget Hollis
- 3Pruning guide that killed a hedge
Our ‘Shape Your Hedge in 3 Steps’ told readers to cut back boxwoods by ⅓ each year. A subscriber in Ohio sent a photo of their hedge—brown, crispy, and dead. Turns out, boxwoods handle only 10% annual pruning. We rewrote the guide with species-specific rules, added a ‘pruning calculator’ for first-timers, and included a disclaimer: *‘If it looks like a crime scene, you went too far.’* Bridget Hollis
What those three changed
These failures forced us to build three rules into the site’s process. The first was transparency: if we don’t name the mistake, we’ll repeat it. The second was testing: no guide, no tip, no chart leaves this site until it’s tried in three different gardens.
The third was humility: the people who spot our errors are the ones who deserve the most credit.
Rules that came from mistakes
- Every planting depth, pruning cut, and compost ratio must be tested in at least three real gardens before publication. *(From the seed-starting and compost failures)*
- A ‘last checked’ date appears on every guide, and we email subscribers when it’s updated. *(From the hedge pruning disaster)*
- The contact page now has a ‘Report a Mistake’ form with a direct line to the editor. *(From all three—because silence lets errors grow.)*
The people behind this
This site is run by Bridget Hollis, its founder and editor. That’s how mistakes get caught.
And that’s how you’ll recognize her: she’s the person who fixes things after everyone else has moved on.
Keeping a log like this is uncomfortable. It means admitting you don’t always know, that the first version isn’t the last, and that the people who point out your errors are the ones you need most.
But it’s also the only way to earn trust in a world full of garden advice that’s either too vague or too aggressive. The best gardeners learn from failure; the rest just repeat it.
There’s a mistake I made that wasn’t public. In 2019, I wrote a piece on ‘No-Dig Gardening’ and swore by cardboard mulch. Then I tried it in my own backyard—and the cardboard turned to sludge within a month, drowning my beans. I never published that failure.
But I changed the guide anyway, because the readers who trusted me deserved better than my own bad experiment.
Try the fix yourself. Take a photo. Send it. The next correction might be yours—and that’s how this site stays green.
There will be a next one
This log isn’t finished. The next entry might be about a soil pH chart that misled readers, a pollinator guide that accidentally listed invasive species, or a pruning video where the cuts were wrong. When you find one, the contact page is where to send it.
No shame in being the one who spots the error—just make sure it’s fixed before someone else’s garden suffers for it.
The guides are grouped by category: Advice, Aphids, Blooming, Companion Plants, Container Gardens and How To.