Those are very pretty, id love to try some, check out my list and lets trade! Thanks!

I thought I hit my personal record with September 23rd, but last night I was out surveying the damage from the wind/rain storm and I noticed a chubby little girl as well. She was hitting the Orange Noah morning glories. As much as I hate that plant and it invasiveness, I always change my mind when I see the hummers at it. It's nice to see that there's still activity up top; it gives us in the lower states some hope ;)

Also entered a squash casserole leaf and flower as well as Elegans . Third went to a sport of whirlwind. Next year I need to grab leaves from garden in June so they can be perfect ( w/o blems) hosta leaves keep very well in a vase with water. try it. you will be amazed This post was edited by bragu on Thu, Jul 17, 14 at 23:29

Hi Susan! I absolutely agree with your approach! Too often you will see many people panic and run for the pesticide/insecticide/miticide or insecticidal soap/neem/etc. with little thought for the overall consequence of their actions. I know that God created every single creature for a reason, and this is true in the garden just as it is in the rest of the world. When a gardener tries to wipe out any given pest, they disrupt the food chain and throw everything off balance. Once your bug populations are out of balance, it is very easy for any given pest to overpopulate and become an actual problem (instead of being perceived as a problem just by their presence in the garden). Your example of the milkweeds, aphids and green lacewings is an excellent example. Suppose a butterfly lover were able to wipe out ALL the aphids. With no food to support their population, the green lacewings will either move on to an area with a good supply of food, or they will die. That butterfly gardener's entire garden is then more vulnerable to any bug infestation because the lacewings aren't around any more to keep other bug populations in check. So, obviously you have done the correct thing by letting the natural system work in your landscape. If I have learned anything at all from a lifetime of gardening, it is that the various insects will pretty much take care of each other. That's one reason I prefer to release beneficial insects...it is working within the natural system instead of outside of it. Could you and I ever convince some of those butterfly gardeners to let the aphids stay on the milkweed and then let the green lacewings take care of the aphids themselves?I doubt it. I think the whole 'working within the realm of nature and its cycles' thing is a unique wisdom a gardener acquires over time. Some people catch on to it sooner, some later, and some never. Does this mean that I don't panic when a specific bug population appears to be out of control? No. Of course I still get concerned. But I try to figure out first if there is an actual problem. I try to wait it out and see if nature will correct the situation (it usually does). I try to determine if the damage...like holes in leaves, for example,...is just something that is "visually unpleasant" or is actually damaging to the plant. And I have learned, through the years, that often the best action to take is "no action". So, I guess our approach is best thought of as working with nature, instead of against it, and how can that be wrong? Dawn (who is tired and will now climb down off her soapbox and stop ranting)