The 'Garden'?

Here's what i'm good at - grass and gravel. SOO easy to maintain and keep alive (well the grass atleast). Last year i tried my hand at some flowers and some veggies and after a series of unfortunate events - i have YET to keep something alive. In 2011 I planted a couple of vines, some azaleas, a few rhodies and a variety of veggies. I was doing decent, not flourishing but atleast maintaining, until we housed 5 puppies. By the time the puppies found new homes there wasn't a single ground level plant still living. The vegetable garden was luckily out of their reach but unfortunately didn't survive me leaving town for a week in August. So here i am again, starting fresh - and look at my situation:

{Hydrangea No. 1 - Pretty Sad}

{Hydrangea No. 2 - Very Sad}

{Hydrangea No. 3 - Happy!}

What the heck?! All planted the same way, at the same time, within 5 feet of eachother. How did i manage this? I will have to do some hydrangea research and get back to you.  Here is my other plant for the year - i'm thinking 4 is my limit, if i can keep them alive i will try more next year.