A neighbor’s advice is most useful when it notices your soil, light, and time.

Advice about growing anything is only as good as its fit with your particular ground. What thrives two streets away may fail in your garden because your light is shorter, your soil holds water, or you are away every August. General enthusiasm skips those details, and following it can leave you convinced you are bad at something you were merely given the wrong plan for.

When someone offers advice, describe your conditions before they finish: the shade, the drainage, the hours you actually have. Ask what they would do in your position. Adapt whatever you take rather than copying it exactly.