I've been really enjoying this game and the story to it, but at the same time I'm becoming incredibly frustrated with how much the garden is punishing me wanting to be predominantly melee. I've dabbled a few skill points into my magic skills (as hard++ gives me more than I even need to spend) but these hordes of skeletons are just brutalizing me. I don't wanna reroll as a wizard if I don't have to, but if the rest of the game is going to force me to resort to chipping away at my enemies with paltry hit-and-run attacks, then I don't see why I should even bother continuing to use melee weapons. Is this absurdity gonna let up, or should I just reroll as a dress-wearing fool?

If you have the +fire you can use fireball while equipped with a staf of red magic.2~3 fireballs are enough to clear the skeletons if they are clumped together.
If you don't have points put into fire magic you can go and buy scroll of fire aura.
Once the sceletons start chasing you cast the scroll and you lead them to some stairs and stand on the stairs with only your scalp showing...the skeletons wil clump together right at the edge of the fire aura and burn slowly away.

Your other options are using hammers to crush or phase scrolls to dodge past the sceletons without fighting them.

There are probably other ways of dealing with them but those are the only ones i could think of.

I've been focusing on axes, polearms, bows, and frost magic, so that Slicering sounds like a god-send. Is it in the gardens, or further?

Yes i think it was in the library and to do it i think you need a phaze scroll and a return scroll.Thats how i did it at least.

Hey, he didn't ask for hints! There is actually another way to do it as well, but I won't say :P

Haha, thankfully I already got Slicering before I checked back on the forums. :P Just the knowledge that a weapon like that was waiting for me gave me the extra boost I needed. It also helps that the flying plant's been more useful than I expected. :D Gotta say that my face was probably pretty funny when I tried using a ghost form (whatever it is) potion on the great fire quest.

It really depends on the way you play.I am planning to do a dagger/hammer/armor paladin(healing spells) run.
Right now i am like you i think.Axes/Spears/Magic/Robes.

Nah, I've focused on axes/spears/bows/armor/potions, but I've been dabbling in magic because all these extra skill points. :P

I found the following sphere of magic to be incredibly helpful in the game, especially the late game, listed by order of importance: Frost, Healing, Arcane, Fire, Alteration.

Frost, Healing & Fire are most useful at 10+, Arcane at 7+ and Alteration at 12+.

I'd say if you don't have a 10+ score in at least 3 well chosen magic spheres by late game, you'll encounter some seriously obstacles that might make you quit the game.

Good news is that by then, you'll probably have found the orb that allows you to reassign your skill points.

So piece of advice: Don't use that orb until you get really stuck with your current character and really need to reassign some skills.

PS: In my game, I was a warrior/mage with high score in health, armor, archery, polearm and mace, so you don't need to be strictly a mage to win the game, though I don't believe a pure warrior or almost pure warrior could win the game. Maybe someone with a severe case of OCD could manage it and that's a big maybe.

Can a "pure warrior" use potions,wands and scrolls?You will have to farm materials for the potions but there are some mighty usefull brews that make it totaly worth it.

I had high potions and it didn't cut it by itself.

Didn't find too many useful wands in the game, though I haven't played with the latest patch so maybe.

I find the fire breath spell incredibly useful for throngs of skeletons. And it only requires 3 Fire skill. If you can get a full casting off, whatever's hit by it takes massive damage from multiple initial hits, and subsequent burn damage. It only takes a couple of seconds before an entire legion is wiped out.
I haven't used polearms, but Slicering sounds totally useful.