We have some in our yard because someone brewed beer with it years ago. I like the look on our garden fence. Here's what it looks like with flowers (they stay pale green until they dry). Don't know about the black specks.

Susan

Thank you. I think the black specks are apids.

Years ago I used to get black specks on petunias whenever I planted them. If you look it up online is says it's poop from the tobacco bud worm. Here is what I found.

The tobacco budworm, also called the geranium budworm or budworm caterpillar, is the larva of an adult moth with light green to brown wings and a wingspan of 1 1/2 inches. The adult female moth lays eggs on buds or leaves. Eggs hatch and larvae, which are varied in color but tend to have apparent banding, feed within developing flower buds before emerging to feed in the open as they grow. Flowers fail to bloom or bloom with a ragged appearance. Small, dark, seed-like specks of feces are visible in areas where these caterpillars feed.

I think in this case, Renee is right about the black specks being aphids based on what I can see in the photo, including the ant which "farms" aphids. While insects do leave frass (feces) that are usually dark specks as Richard mentions, in this case it wouldn't be tobacco budworm since they only eat members of the tobacco family like petunias and Nicotiana, and hops is in a different family (related to cannabis).