All my flowers in my yard seem to have died so quickly this year. Suggestions?

Question:I bought my house last year and the landscaping was terrific. The tulips, roses and other flowers lasted all spring and summer long. I don't know what happened this year. Is there more I should've done besides watering them once a week? Now that there dead is there something I can do to get them back to life? or Do I have to plant all new ones?

Answers:
I don't know where you live, but roses are only beginning to bloom, here in Michigan. Our tulips which were gorgeous, last year, were only fair this year, and I don't even think all of them came up this year, much less put out blooms. Perhaps the frost went deeper, or at least the spring weather was a little different. Our flowering crabapple trees, for example were in full bloom and looked really nice. Then a really strong wind came along, blowing all of the blooms off in nearly one day. Each spring is a little different, depending on the amount of rain, how long it takes to warm up, how hot it gets and how soon. You may need to find some books about the plants you have in your garden, read up on them, and go from there. One thing that is of great help is to use the product called, "Preen" to prevent weed growth. Make certain the plants you have in place are O.K. to use it with. Roses, by the way, should have the dead blooms pruned back to encourage new bud growth. My grandmother used to pour leftover dishwater on hers (not from the dishwasher but the standard dishsoap kind), and sprinkle old coffee grounds in her garden, and also crushed egg shells. I suppose good old rose fertilizer would be good. In the winter, if you are in cool climate, you need to mulch or put something protective around roses so that they do not have so much die-back on their branches. Get some books.