Your plants look pretty healthy and I do not see any "infestations". Bugs are a fact of life, and for the most part they do no harm. The best advice I can give you is, learn to live with them! I would not be spraying.

This, on the other hand IS what an infestation looks like.

{{gwi:231530}}

If you are spraying every time you see a bug you soon will have a sort of artificial enviornment where everything including the good bugs are dead.
It's a garden, outside, birds eat bugs, other bugs eat bugs and some bugs eat plants. A couple of bugs are a good thing...only when you get a huge amount of the same kind of bug which the preditors are not eating do you need to spray.
The little red one on your phlox is NOT a spider mite....those you can't see....they are smaller than a poppy seed...I believe you have a cochineal bug. The skinny bee was likely a wasp that lays it's eggs on harmful caterpillers, and the orange bug could have been a lot of things
Relax! Pull weeds! Dig another flower bed, smell the roses! Put out a bird feeder, they will eat a lot of your bugs.
Linda C

I think it is great you are getting up close and personal with your plants, and you will learn so much by having an
'intimate' relationship with them. I do, however, agree with the posters. The insect life you've observed is normal, and as much a part of the garden relationship as the flowers. As your garden gets bigger and richer, you'll make yourself crazy observing every little spot and wing. People who just can't let nature be use wide spectrum sprays and end up killing the pollinators too: bees, wasps, and crawlers. Then your garden will have fewer or smaller flowers.

The best instructors for me were other people's gardens, especially the display gardens. I was astonished at how many yellow spots, curled leaves and spotted flowers there were. However the eye is distracted from the normal decay and messiness of nature by meticulous edging and weeding, excellent and unobtrusive staking, a good mulch and good design. The human footprint is seen in the structure and design, not plant and insect ecology. Enjoy your garden! So many years of pleasure- moderated by the pain of failures- are ahead. Lucky you.

Bugs aren't to be a concern until about 30% of a plants foliage is damaged. I rarely see that kind of damage and I use no insecticides. Ladybugs will eat the small soft-bodied insects like aphids and mealybugs, so will ladybug larvae which look some prehistoric beast but are worth their size in diamonds!

I use natural sprays to keep a bug population down or prevent my neighbor's infestation from becoming my own (particularly in my vegetable garden...elsewhere I'm not so concerned.) Spray 1 is a clove of garlic, minced and soaked in water overnight. Strain, and spray all over. Spray 2 will actually chase away soft-bodied insects like aphids & whiteflies: 1 tsp dishsoap, 1 litre water, 1 pinch red pepper. Spray all over.

I use the garlic spray regularly. I also interplant garlic throughout my beds as it's such a great bug deterrent.

You've not got a bug problem. :) You've got plants outside :)

As was said, that critter on the phlox isn't a mite. It's far too large.

That said, I doubt that any solitary critter that size is causing problems.

Someone suggested a cochineal bug. You don't have that either. They only go to certain cactus.

Beyond that, do as others have suggested: Relax. Enjoy your garden. What you're seeing is life as it occurs outdoors, but not problems.

Few things are perfect in a garden. My guideline is "If you can't see it from 3 feet away, everything is fine." Bites happen. And spots, too. And even bugs, both bad and good.

Oh yes, if you're spraying for the blotchy spots on the rose -- stop. That's botrytis, and is common from overhead watering, rain, or humid weather. By the time you see the spots, it's too late to do anything.

"My guideline is "If you can't see it from 3 feet away, everything is fine." "

Good one. One time they asked me to be on the local garden tour. I told them thanks, but I'd freak out over every weed and go crazy trying to make everything perfect.

I found a small grey spider curled up down in my cuke plant; figured he'd be a help if something nastier came along. Hope I was right. Gottagarden- that's the saddest sight in the world! Ugh.

I don't use any chemicles either. I do have problems with sawfly larva on my lysimachia. If I did not pull the critters off they would devour that plant. As soon as I start to see damage I get a can of water and just pick them off and drop them in the water.

I do have laydbugs and toads so they take care of lots of critters.

I guess for the most part I am probaly over reacting. This is all new to me. All of the plants seem to be doing fine, except for the peony. There were several of those bugs on the peony; not a full blown infestation (as shown above) but enough to cause some alarm. There were four to six on the under side of several leaves (which I think are springtails), 10-15% of the leaves are damaged. This is the plant that started it all for me. I have always loved peonies and picked it up one day at lowes. I was not sure where to plant it and once I did I thought well something else might look nice next to it and now I have a small garden along the fence on the side of my home. It still needs some work, but I am happy with it so far. The real challenge will be next year. The front of my house is f-ugly. There are several, leggy overgrown rhododendrums (sp) which I will cut back in a few weeks. The whole yard is shade; there is a super large tree that blocks almost all sun. I am planning on documenting the whole process from start to finish in my journal.
{{gwi:231532}}

Your garden looks lovely and healthy to me. What they said above--don't sweat the bugs. You get used to seeing them after a while and it's best to learn about them before you panic and spray. I forget the percentage, but the majority of bugs are either beneficial or neutral in the garden.

If the peony was newly planted this year, it may look bad for this whole season ( it doesn't keep putting out new growth like other plants ). But next year it will look terrific. WIlting, yellowing leaves are more likely from transplant shock than bugs. Peonies are pretty tough and bug resistant.

I will try to remain calm on the bug front. The peony has not grown at all. I am not sure it I planted it deep/not deep enough. I moved back some of the mulch and soil to see if I could see eyes but didn't so maybe thats a good thing as I guess they are supposed to be 1-2" under. I have a false indigo that was not looking so hot for a while and I replanted to a sunnier area and it finally has new growth. I was really excited when I first noticed. It is one of my favorites as well. I don't think I gave it enough room though as I didn't realize it got as large as it supposedly does. If it "takes-off" next year i will move stuff out of its way. I hope it does. Thank you for all of your thoughts and advice.

I don't know what king of rhododendron you have but if it's the old fashioned large flowered type, you will ruin it if you cut back...tall Rhodos are much prized, you need to plant beneath them to eliminate the too tall look.
Linda c

Julianne, is there a possibility the tree (would help to know which tree) could be limbed up higher to provide more light? The rhododendrons will respond to pruning by becoming leggy again if they are not getting enough sun.

And, if you do feel the need to prune the rhododendrons, do it now...they will set their buds for next Springs blooms this summer and pruning in a few weeks could leave you without flowers next season.

I am not sure exactly the type of tree. It is one of the largest trees I have ever seen. We had it limbed last year but it didn't help much. Early spring it has soem sort of red berry and then a few weeks ago the seed pods that look like a green wing. I have no idea the type of rhoddys they are they look like every other rhoddy I have ever seen. I don't care if they flower for a few years. They are really ugly and I would rather take the time getting them to look decent.