I envy you with your daylilies just starting. Mine are almost all gone. You have some great asiatic lilies. Those bright colors are just beautiful. That Heavenly Fire is very pretty. The rose is lovely too. Sarah

The J beatles seem almost impossible to control on the roses, since they get into the blooms--and how can you spray blooms without ruining them. Well, that is a question for the rose forum, I guess. The dwarf Asiatics must be nice accenting your paths.

JBs are horrible wee beasties, aren't they? I suppose one of the reasons I am into OGRs is that by the time the beetles emerge, the flowers are done.

I read an easy-ish organic tea recipe for them but haven't tried it yet: http://www.finegardening.com/item/23481/make-your-own-natural-spray-for-japanese-beetles

Cheers!
~Anika

Here is a link that might be useful: GothicLibrarian.net

Beetles are nasty little scoundrels. The birds are beginning to eat them here, and they were not as bad this time as usual.

All of your photographs are gorgeous as usual, Celeste. I especially like the colors of the lilies. Carolyn Hnt is my favorite of the daylilies.
kay

Wow, nice pics of your lilies. Too bad about the JP's devouring your roses. Have you ever tried the beetle bags?

Julia

THANKS everyone for commenting!
Julia, yes we have tried the beetle bags but no longer use them. The problem with them is that in order to be somewhat effective your neighbors need to use them too, otherwise you are attracting JB's from miles around to yours.
There is a scent lure in the bags that attracts them to it.
None of my neighbors have gardens so they don't use them.
We actually had more beetles when we used the bags.

Anika, when I find the time I will look into that recipe.
Thanks everyone else for looking at my pictures!

Celeste

TUTANKHAMUN would be my favorite. Love the pink bi-color! The asiatic lilies are just beautiful as is the rose. The JB's are here also. I find they love the Crape Myrtles and the apples. Since I have very few roses, they only get to a few. Also, the Hibiscus are getting ready to bloom and they especially like them. I grab them by the handsful when I can and make sure to kill the little buggers...Ellie

Oh Celeste, I just love all those beautuful lily blooms you have there and of course the roses are so beautiful. I am really sorry about the Japanese Beetles. Horrid things. And so nice to see your daylilies blooming. I think everything is early all over the east this year.

CELESTE> your flowers are so pretty. I love CARoLYN HUNT, its gorgeous,and those lilies are beautifulI guess I have never seen one of them beetles,if I have,I didnt know what it was..Your roses are so beautiful.as is the whole garden.

jean

The daylilies are looking good! My favorites though are that first dwarf Asiatic and the Playboy rose.

Debra

Celeste your balitmore belle is terrific!

some of my daylily seedlings are starting to open, but not many.

A couple years ago the red leaf lily beatle moved into our area, in my old home I probably had 50-60 asiatic lilies, I still have a small scattering of orientals, but I have to spray to keep them, I tried neem oil the first year and they laughed at it and chomped thier way through, then laied thier larvae , hand picking seems useless, they get into the smallest places tight agtainst the plant, to dig them out you end up breaking the lilies. I resort to spray ing or have none.

Do you have them yet celeste? they might be coming your way.

I never had as many roses as you, but I barely have any moderns or repeaters anymore, once had like 100 austins, bucks, hps , bourbons ect , now I have like 50 roses, which 90% are either explorers or antiques, anything I get now must start blooming in early june, or its worthless. I hate spraying my entire garden, I hate JBS as well. I noticed though at the hieght of dayliy season, they WILL start chomping on the daylily buds. Did I tell you how much I HATE JBS!

Silverkelt

Your lilies and roses are beauties and Carolyn Hunt is my favorite daylily.
Val

Love those lilies! Your garden must be bursting with color! Love the climbing rose! I haven't gotten into roses yet - can't seem to find the energy to give them what they need. Yours looks lovely!

I just came in from picking japanese beetles and they are swirling around & kicking in that soapy water trying not to drown.... I get sadistic satisfaction out of their futile efforts. I wanted to come in and cool off and THANK YOU ALL for commenting on my post.

Silverkelt...I remember you from the Roses Forum...good to hear from you. I also fight the war against the red lily beetles. I have probably 200 true lilies (asiatics, orientals, OT's) and those nasty red beetles start their reign of terror first thing in the spring, just as the stalks are emerging from the ground. I can not believe how they are already there waiting for the lilies! Then it is a constant battle, just like you described. I tried the organics and they were useless. And the nasty black droppings on the underside of the leaves....YUK! They will destroy lilies in no time and I had to get tough this year. I HATE to use strong pesticides in my yard because I have so many bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and my cats but I had to resort to Sevin dust. I was careful to only get it on the lilies and nothing else, and will not use it when anything is blooming so the bees don't get into it. By doing an application about 3 different times they seem to be under control for the first time ever. I did notice a few on some lilies I planted elsewhere and forgot about, but won't use the Sevin now because of all the flowers blooming. I also had to get rid of many of my modern roses due to the japanese beetles. It's just too heartbreaking to lose all blooms to them. There are certain roses they favor (Austins in particular). The roses I got rid of were all moderns. The old roses have the good manners to bloom PRIOR to the arrival of the jb's. I know lots of people only want the reblooming roses but you and I know they only spell trouble.

Celeste

Congratulations on your DL season starting!! Why mine were almost a whole month earlier I don't know.
Tutankhamun is a beautiful bicolor and it's my favorite. Lilies are lovely! Those Tiny Padhye are so dramatic, and I love the color of Ladylikes.
Of course I sympathize about the JBs. They are on the my white rose already. Knockout started reblooming today too, so that's another snack. I hate to see them being devoured like this, but at least it's a distraction from daylilies.
And red lily beetles too :( Why are all those pests even surviving in the north..

Nat4b, I always thought it was cruel that we have some of the shortest growing seasons and 2/3 of it is fighting against bugs.

The beauty of the red lily beatle at least is what celeste described, using a heavy pesticide early, it only takes about two applications here and I dont see them anymore. You can do it fairly early and they are gone for the season.

Silverkelt

Beautiful bloom after beautiful bloom I'm on overload. I especially like your dwarf lilies Tango Passion and Tiny Padhye, such unusual colors.
Linda