Do a search using the words boxwood Indian wax scale. You'll probably find the symptoms match. IWS is the most probable type of scale to infest boxwood. The black spots are a type of mold called sooty mold that lives on the honeydew excreted by the scale. BTW - adding your USDA zone and state to your user info would be helpful ..... and/or a large city you're in or near. Al

I hate fungus gnats! Don't believe the myth that they are harmless to your plants. The adult gnats are harmless, but I have lost many young violets to fungus gnat larva. The larva will eat the roots. Any insect spray will kill the adult gnats. Gnatrol (can buy from amazon.com) will kill the larva. The larva need the top half inch of soil to be wet, so let the top dry out between waterings. Don't leave water in plant trays. A small fan near your plants helps too. Another thing, there is often an outdoor source that attracted the fungus gnats. Check for rotting leaves or other composting materials especially near windows. In my case they came in from potted plants I have outdoors. I hope this isn't too much! Adam in NH

Still relatively new at this, but it does look like leaf rot. I've not seen it black before, but brown on some violets I had years ago. That itself is caused by too much fertilizer built up. Some other more experienced folk will chime in but if I remember correctly, you'll want to flush the plant with water thoroughly and pick off the darkened leaves-at least the ones that are really darkened. It may be too (it looks like you're wicking-which I don't) that you need to flush the wick water as well. Don't fertilize again for a while. Not sure what you're using, I use Optimara's 14-12-14 and Jack's 30-10-10 (just a bit for some heavily variegated ones I've got). Best, Judy

I have been having a lot of luck these past years with a super-thick tarp made for trucks. It is one of the thickest they make, and that has been necessary to hold up under the sun, rain, snow, moles, pulling, cutting, etc. But they have held up well for 2 years now with no signs of real concern. Even areas of tearing, they haven't compromised the idea of a tarped garden. My garden is roughly 24'x90' so I bought two 16 mil brown tarps (24x45 each). Be sure to add maybe an extra foot because they shrink a tad. I laid them down, cut holes for plants, and weighed them initially with some pieces of scrap lumber, rocks, and tomato cages to keep the whole thing in place. But after some weeks this was not necessary as all the plants hold the whole thing together. I put a sprinkler system in places and the holes for the plants give plenty of water to come in. Is it perfect? Not at all. I have to roll it up once a year to till, the wind sometimes blows things out of place, it gets dirty and full of debris, etc. But compared to my extremely vigorous weeds, this idea has made an impossible garden more than manageable. NOTE: Adding a tarp will increase soil temperature. In my area (oHIo) this is a great thing, but depending on your area and plants, something to keep in mind. Here is a link that might be useful: Super Heavy Duty Tarp