Oh, Leslie, that pic just freaks me out! Those sticky suckers WERE all over my little red-twig dogwood, but I hosed the heck out of them often. They're still trying to hang out on my flowering quince, but I'm returning volley with more hosings. :)

I did notice a lot of lady beetle larvae, especially on one of my rock roses, but those are GOOD! Whew! AND I counted 8 white-lined sphinx moths on my porch the other morning. They're so cute when they feed, like little hummingbirds. :)

I've seen a lot of "mosquito hawks" this year, too. Strange how some years produce bumper crops of critters.

Brenda

All of my whites look just like that, they've ruined my roses, they're so thick on all the buds they're coating the canes down 8" or more. Then they crawl inside the buds too as the sepals start opening. I've bought ladybugs 3 times and set them loose:) One mini rose that is over 4' tall and wide has 14 on them eating and it's nowhere enough to make a difference. I tried washing, it worked initially and then as it got cooler again more aphids arrived and now the leaves look really bad from too much water. The roses have looked this bad for 2 weeks now. I have some weeds on the side of the house looking like this too. The only other plants they're bothering are the daylilies which are fixing to start blooming soon.

Last year was very light, this year is very, very bad. I'm hoping all those toads show up really soon:) My luck they won't be back, but after two years of the same habit I'm expecting them.

I've got so many bees buzzing around the lavenders and blooming roses that I don't want to spray. I tried an insecticidal soap a couple of times awhile ago and it didn't make a dent.

I go out washing them off anyways and have to brush off my clothes to come inside from them. Just curious if you guys have them bad too.

Do you have everything in bloom now Brenda? How about new pics?

I just got back from Redding early yesterday evening, Leslie, so I didn't get a chance to really check out the yard. I've noticed with the off and on heat, the plants seem to say, "Oh, it's SUMMER?! Ok, time to really kick the blooming into gear!" Then it cools down, and everything sort of pauses. LOL

I'll check out the bloomers today and get some pics. I'm so sorry about your aphid problems! Mom and I were on patrol for western tent caterpillars this weekend. They're pretty bad up there this year, but not as numerous as I've seen them in years past, where they'd cover the ground and cause you to slip....let alone cover every building and plant in the area. They really do some damage before turning into moths. Yuck!

Brenda

Oh that's disgusting on the catepillars, I find it hard to keep up with the dozen I find now and then. They can do a lot of damage even checking for them twice a day. Multiply that by what your mom has, they'd wipe you out. I agree, ooh, ick. I'm just not sure what good moths are for anything. Figure if aphids are over balanced everything else would be too.

Ok, a few pics from the garden. :)

I love my Salvia clevelandii 'Allen Chickering'. The little fuzzies on it are from the cottonwood tree behind the house! Gives everything in the yard a soft-focus feel. LOL

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I thought this Sawara false cypress 'Snow' was dying over the winter. There was no info online which explained it turns a nice bronzy color in the off-season. It's now putting out those white tips that made me fall in love with it!

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Here's my cluster of (mostly yellow with one or 2 maroon) snapdragons that must be at least 3 years old now. So reliable and easy. Off in the upper right, you can also just make out Salvia 'Moonlight' (pale yellow) in front of the sweet alyssums that don't seem to stop blooming!

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One of my favorite Salvias is my chamaedryoides, or germander sage. LOVE that blue color with the silvery foliage!

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And finally, a small bed with 'Sunset' rockrose in the upper right, S. nemerosa 'Caradonna' showing spiky purpleness to the left of that, and 'Southern Belle' sundrops in the front. I could almost crawl in there and fall asleep. :D

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Thanks for looking!

Brenda

Those are all gorgeous Brenda!! I especially like the Rockrose. What kind of soil conditions does it grow in? I used to admire it at a friend's house at a lower elev in the mtns but couldn't grow it where I was. I saw some in a front bed of someone around here and remembered how beautiful I thought it was. Used to draw in the bunnies to her house:)

I love all the colors of these plants and flowers, wow, maybe I ought to rethink roses, LOL* Your false Cypress is a beautiful plant, so lush and healthy looking, everything you have is.
Got more pics??:)

BTW, I was eyeing my Spiderwort today, wow is it large. I'm so used to that dying totally down in the winter that the size it was last year was what I was used to. I should have given it a lot more room:) It's running into an almost 3'tall butter yellow mini. My yellow daylilies started blooming today too. Man, I hope the aphids don't swallow them up too. The mums are starting to bloom, it's making my mood better since most of my roses look like the above.

Ooo, I love my spiderworts, too! I have 'Sweet Kate' and 'Osprey', both in pots. The 'Sweet Kate' is in a shady area on the other side of my pond, but the 'Osprey' is sitting in more sun. Both are blooming like they just don't care. :D The purple heart is coming back, too. LOVE that dark purple foliage!

Your comments are so sweet, Leslie! Thank you!! I still can't believe I can grow stuff and not kill it. LOL

I have 2 rockroses - crimson-spot and 'Sunset'. The crimson-spot is in dappled sun, and it's more upright than the sprawling/spreading 'Sunset', which is in pretty much full sun. The 'Sunset' has grey-green, fuzzy foliage, while the crimson-spot has rough, green foliage and reddish stems. I just planted mine right in the ground (pliable clay which seems plenty fertile and is easy to work with when wet...more chunky/crumbly when dry) and only watered occasionally at first. Now, both live off only the rain they receive. I'll get better pics of both rockroses later today. :)

Wow, your mums are starting to bloom! I think I'll have to wait for late summer/fall for mine, if past performance is any indication.

I've decided that this year is when I stop fertilizing, unless something I really love looks all the worse for wear because of it. Watering just takes so much time as it is without having to worry about feeding the little darlings, too. :D I'll see how things look and hope for the best!

Brenda

Leslie: Those aphids are bad! I haven't used any poisons in the gardens since we moved here 12 years ago. The bugs now take care of the bugs, If the aphids get too bad I spray them off with water.

Pretty pictures, Brenda.... all rabbit food here. sigh

DH and I drove the new Prius up to visit our DD & DGDs in Hood River, Oregon last week and just returned today. All has grown while we were gone and I actually have 5 pea pods getting full; ;-)) and some baby jalepinos that could be used if needed.... but I like them better ripe.

The caterpillars are ravaging the Nastys, so I guess I will spray with some BT.

Tonight I did a walk-about to see what had happened in our absence. I had a female Hummer help me water the new citrus tree; didn't seem to want a drink, but rather just sat companionably watching me not 1 ft. away.

I gave LA DD a whole flat of my baby pepper plants before we left, and took another flat on our journey. I didn't think about it getting cold at night in Oregon. The clerk at the Inn looked a little surprised when I carried them up to our room. Oregon DD took a bit more then half the flat for herself and her friends but left the rest for her brother in Oakland. If I can give away one more flat I think I can manage to plant the last flat myself. I will be cooking a lot of small bell peppers this summer, I think.

It sounds like you've been busy, Westelle! I love it when I get back from out of town to find that my garden has survived just fine without me....and even thrived. Sometimes, I think I tend to smother my plants with love. :D

That's great news about the peppers finding homes. And the hummer sounds adorable! It's always a treat when nature accepts us. :)

I'm so thankful we don't have rabbits in our yard! It's one thing fighting off the gophers...and the slugs and earwigs and aphids. I think I would lose my mind if I had to worry about one more critter. I haven't used any poisons that last 3 or 4 years, and I keep finding new beneficials each year. Very satisfying. Too bad the praying mantises don't attack and eat gophers...LOL

Ok, here's a closeup of the 'Sunset' rockrose...along with cottonwood tree fuzz. :D Love those crinkly flowers!

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And the crimson-spot, just starting to bloom -

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My white sage has a big 'ol bloom stem on it! Can't wait to see it flower! I bought this as a little 3-4 inch plant one year ago on 4-15-07.

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You probably couldn't tell, but I'm not a BIG fan of pink in my garden. Somehow, I end up with the 'Sunset' rockrose, or the hot pink ice plant...or this row of geraniums given to me as pruned stubs from a neighbor a few years ago and just stuffed in the ground. It keeps some color going, anyway. :)

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Brenda

I've found a few roseslugs, that's all I need is another infestation of caterpillars again this year!! I hope they stay north, no offense Westelle. Sorry you're having this problem, I feel your pain, I do.

Beautiful Brenda, I gotta get some rockrose, what time of the year can you find it? I don't ever seem to see it at Lowe's or I'd be struck by it and get it. Nope, can't tell you like pink at all, LOL* Pink, mauve is kind of prevalent for me too. Then I'm in an orange blend kick lately:) All the white blends are the yuckiest looking from the aphids up close.

I have found in the last couple of days ladybug larva in different stages, so my ladybug buying is paying off. Slowly they're getting the roses and other flowers cleaned up. They're on plants I don't think need it but hey at least they're around now:) Toads due any day now, I hope.

Brenda, I couldn't find any rockrose tonight but I did find a very nice chocolate coleus:)

Oh, geeze, my memory sucks! I can't seem to remember where I got my rockroses. I'm almost positive I got them at Home Depot, though, many moons ago. I know the 'Sunset' is at least 4 years old now.

I LOVE orange and purple together! Since so many plants have blooms which are in the purple range, orange really seems to break things up. Or red and purple. That's very dramatic. Another favorite is purple and yellow...like dessert!

GREAT news about the lady beetle larva, Leslie! I can't believe how many we have this year.

Plant sale today, and Mom is headed down here in T-minus 15 minutes. Woohoo! LOL

Brenda

Uh oh, I only really have the shade garden to stick anything in. I have a really hard problem finding anything that will grow out in the large rose garden because it's full sun all day long. Even if I'm willing to go give it water every day, which I'm really not, especially as I'm busier than ever, as it gets hotter I'm not:) It's a waste of money to keep planting, but I keep trying a few trying to find something that will grow out there and not be too big or too invasive. I saw salvias but they were red, I want the blue or the purple and they didn't have them.

Well, come back and let us know what damage you and your mom do:)

Leslie, if you can find a rockrose, they will love the hot, all day sun with little water. They do get fairly big, though. My 'Sunset' is at least 5 ft. wide, crawling across the ground. But it's not too tall, and I have room to plant things down within the crawling branches so the new plants will grow up through it. Nice for shading roots for plants that appreciate that. :)

Ok, we went CRAZY yesterday! LOL Mom got at least 15 plants, including a 5 gal. Cotinus 'Royal Purple'...I'm so jealous! Plus, because she spent about $77, she got 3 free one gal. plants (or 9 free 4")!

I spent about half that, since I have way less than half her space. LOL I got - a 'Mönch' Aster, an Eriogonum (sulfer buckwheat), 'Wisley Pink' Helianthemum (sunrose), Mammillaria geminispina (twin-spined cactus, or whitey....and I already stabbed myself! LOL), 'Blue Springs' Penstemon, Salvia patens (gentian sage), 'Coral Carpet' Sedum album, and 'Spring Beauty' Sempervivum.

And there's another sale the end of next month...OY! :D

Brenda

Oh wow, you DID have fun:) You got some very nice plants and great prices. Some great weather still to plant in too. I want some pics:)

I have a sidewalk area then that would be perfect. Too much cookie cutter sameness here. I'm looking for some change there too.

Try buying mantid egg sack from the internet for your local nursery. Last year my roses were a mess. When theeggs finally hatced the aphids were gone in one day.

Well, I don't know about you all, but right at the moment all the blossoms of every plant at filled with these tiny black bugs that are eating out the insides. When I bring in a bouquet I have to content with black bugs first. GRRR!

I had some strange little beetles doing that to one of my mums (C. paludosum), Westelle! They were black and dull yellow, the shape resembling ladybugs, but they definitely weren't ladybugs. VERY tiny, and I couldn't find any information about them online or in books. Never seen them before this year, either. They destroyed all of the those mum blooms, and I had to toss the plant.

Haven't seen very many mantises this year, either! Plenty of ladybugs, earwigs, and other assorted beetles, though.

Brenda

Aphids, haven't been too bad for me here, but I just discover I have termites eating my sunset echinacea plant. I had three and now I have only one left. Told DH and he will spray tomorrow if the weather permits.
Anyways, How has everybody been?
Tamara