I am totally serious about this suggestion. Get in touch with the nearest Vocational Education Institution and invite them to bring their Horticulture Class for a visit to ID plant problems and recommend remedial action. Alternatives would be the Master Garden Program, Garden Clubs and Professional Associations. Do not let the situation overwhelm you. For the long term, learn the language of horticulture/gardening so that you can describe things over the phone when you call up the County Extension Service or you post your questions on this site. Let us start with that Gardenia. Are the leaves dropping in response to a weather feature? What are the neighbors' gardenias doing? Is the yellowing moving downward or upward on the plant as a whole? Look at individual leaves; Are they yellowing from petiole to tip or vice versa? Is the yellowing over the whole leaf or confined to the veins, or between the veins? I hope that you have concluded that there are a lot more questions than answers. Let me assure you that there is no stupid question. (There are only stupid answers like "That's a stupid question"). And never forget that "Mother Nature bats last". Let us know how things progress.

I would start by trying to identify the plants (if you don't already know) and the corresponding pest. You could post pictures on the forums here or take cuttings to your local garden center (not a big box garden center) who should have staff that could ID the plants and the bugs. With that information you can find the right treatment (chemicals, timing, number of applications etc.) and begin. That garden center may be able to help or the web has a lot of good information.

Do you have access to a digital camera so that you can post images of these pests? As you can tell, most of us are loath to suggest remedies without being able to identify the pest(s).

I can only hazard a guess, judging by the kinds of descriptions we've seen here in the garden web over the years, but that would be less than helpful to you and not very responsible of me. ;-)

Your local extension office may be of some help. Take actual samples (in a paper or plastic bag) or pictures directly to their local office.

In the meantime, here are two insects for you to 'google'. Look up 'tent caterpillars' and 'aphids'. See if they compare to anything that you may have.

I would start by building up my soil! Healthy plants do not get bug infestations. Mulch to the drip line with all the grass and leaves you can get.

Chemicals may kill beneficial bugs also.

This may sound wierd......gather a bunch of the caterpillers
( I hope they are not Monarch Butterfly juveniles) and put them in the blender with a bit of dish detergent and water and spray the juice on the affected trees and shrubs.

This will work. Remember ORGANIC is better!

Here is a link that might be useful: exchange page

Healthy plants do indeed have insect pests. They may less attractive to to some pests and can be less affected by others if they are healthy, but it is an over-simplification to say that they get no insect pests.

For some reason, you seem to have more than your share. However, there are very few that are potentially fatal to your garden plants. I don't believe that you need to treat immediately and would like to encourage you to take your time to have the pest identified correctly and apply the appropriate treatments. As you can see from your own experience, treatments without knowing the pest are rarely effective.

This forum is a good place to ID many pests, but a good photo is essential. I also would suggest that you post each pest separately with the identity of the plant it is feeding on and a description of the damage it causes. This will avoid a lot of confusion when you are trying to figure out which suggestion is for which pest if you post them all together.

I agree with botany bob and others. More info is needed, preferably pest/plant by pest/plant. Pictures preferred. One general thing that might help on background is .... Where are you? Has the weather been unseasonably warm? Unseasonably wet? Both?
And take time to breathe. Don't panic. You do have time to investigate.
Ronalawn's suggestion was excellent....

Mine too! The tent caterpillars are everywhere and so are the cankerworms. Aphids are all over the rose bush. Bagworms are on the Leyland. The Azaleas have spider mites. I'm not sure why these critters are so prolific this year, but they are!

Your Gardenia may be just doing a natural shedding of old leaves...mine are. When they do shed, the leaves are usually falling ONLY from the lower 1/2 of the bush. Check your soil moisture. Also, you may want to give them a light dose of Ironite. I usually do that if they're shedding a lot of leaves.

I was discussing the tent caterpillar population with someone who has just returned from a 'bug expedition' all over the SE. According to his observations, this is going to be one of those record years for the Eastern Tent Caterpillar in some locations. Major outbreaks tend to be cyclical, or so it appears.

It's extremely important to avoid the most toxic, broad spectum pesticides...no matter what. With insect populations as high as this, the only reasonable measure of long term control will be achieved by the predators, parasites, and pathogens of these critters.

Luckily, we do have some very good bio-based products that can be used with much less effect on the natural controls.

Spraying a broad spectrum poison not only will kill off some of the insect pests but will also kill off all the beneficials, so that is really the wrong thing to do. As lindamarie stated healthy plants will resist insect pests much better than unhealthy plants and unhealthy plants attract insect pests. But getting the soil into a good, healthy state takes time. What to do depends on what you have so start by contacting your local office of your states USDA Cooperative Extension Service office and talk with the Master Gardeners and/or the horticulturist there for identification of what you have and what to do.

Wow, you guys are great. I can see the importance of specifics and photos and detail. I'm sorry, i was overwhelmed... and didn't know what to do. I have been reading alot about my problems and am making marginal progress but i will list my problems independantly and include as much detail as possible and pictures when possible.

thank you everyone.