Most of those daisy-types are drought resistant and don't like sitting wet. It sounds like the garden might be poorly drained, especially during winter and spring?

For me, the easiest are Shasta Daisies but I also have never had problems growing Rudbeckia, Painted Daisies or Gaillardia.

You could also try Heliopsis or Helenium, they are nice.

Not all cultivars are hardy, in my experience the fancy Echinaceas are border line hardy, living one or two years if we have a good winter with good snow cover. The plain species E. purpurea is the hardiest in our zone, slow to emerge but hardy.

Which ones did you buy and good for you buying them at Holes?

Sharon

They were newer varieties of the Echinaceas, the only one that pops to mind is Tiki torch, what a beauty, lovely orange color. They were all orange to yellows because DH is trying for something that looks like "Brown Eye Susans" from his Grandma's yard. The soil is well drained except along the front border where the Cranesbill was it does not stay wet long, I kept an eye on drainage last year in case of that problem, it also does not get a lot of snow coverage because of nearby pines acting as a wind break and roof. I do not like buying basics at Holes because they are very expensive but they do have the best warranty if you use Mykes when you plant. Thanks and any other suggestions greatly appreciated

I tried for years to start painted daisy from seed with absolutely no luck. 4 years ago I gave up. Then the next spring the tiny babies I had planted and forgot about came up! Now I have them all over the garden! They get almost no sun and not much water either but they have bloomed ever since. This year I have double and the ones in the vegie garden are up and huge! I think I just planted them and forgot about them. Same with 4 varieties of shasta daisy.

I haven't had much success with perennial carnations but I can sure grow dianthus Sweet William or pinks. The cheap little six packs from Can. Tire have been coming back for 3 years now. Bigger and bushier every year.

Why not try Brown Eyed Susans? Agrola on 137 Ave. and 120 Streetish in Edmonton had them last year and they have good prices. Or try Greenland out on highway 16 East. They have a complete list on their website. Hope this helps

Ginny

Just noticed the carnations part. You won't likely be able to grow large flowered carnations, but there is a huge variety of dianthus that should work for you. I have over 10 types in my yard, they seem to like it here. I have a tall white one that has that nice carnation smell, I think I got the seeds from Sharon but my mind has gone blank for a name.

Echinaceas, at least the cultivars, are definitely short lived as someone already pointed out. I

I did also have Rudbeckia 'Goldstrum', but again, it lived only for 2 years. This was in two different spots.

Too bad, because I love the daisy flowers.

Try goblin Gillardia. It thrives in my flower beds. They are short lived but they also reseed themselves. I also agree with shasta daisy It's like a weed

Thanks for all the suggestions I guess we will give it one more try. The last forecast I saw was for rain next week so Mon. or Tues we will go do the exchanges. I have a couple hay bales in the shed I will try covering the garden this winter and see if that helps. The only problem with Shasta daisy is that I have never seen them in yellow or orange. I do have a double white, I think that is what it is it did not bloom last year, that is sending up flower stalks. I hate it when the local critters steal the tags. I have a pond so the critters are in the garden all the time. At least the dogs keep the rabbits and squirrels from mowing everything down.

I have a nice patch of ox-eye daisy I've had in my garden for at least 5 years now. I like them a lot better than shasta daisies because the leaves don't get some darn big and the flower stems don't seem to flop like shastas do in my yard with a little bit of tough weather.

They reseed quite readily as well, but the original patch is still going strong.