Tricky. The first rule is "if in doubt, don't water"! Unless your Lithops is so horribly shrivelled that you fear for its death then it has no immediate need for water, but watering a Lithops that doesn't need water can mean instant death. Lithops in strong sun will often develop wrinkles on their sides during the day. Often these are gone by next morning and there is no need to water. If the sides are still wrinkled the next morning then you may want to give some water but there is no harm in waiting a while longer. Often you cannot see wrinkles on the sides because there are some remains of old leaves or the plants are mostly in the soil. Then they can "sink" into the soil without you noticing that they are thirsty. This is caused because the sides have wrinkled quite a lot and the whole plant has shrunk. When your plants try to shrink below the soil you can water them. Watch out for small seedlings which will be pulled down into the soil in strong sun, they may just be hiding from the sun and not really thirsty, but it is generally safe to water young seedlings frequently. In hot dry climates some growers spray a little water on their Lithops quite frequently. I don't do this in my climate, I'm not sure whether this is helpful in your climate or not. The last rule is that once you water, you don't need to water again. If the plant does not respond within a day or two then it has a problem which will not be helped by more water. Maybe it is short of roots for some reason such as being repotted recently. You may need to shade it for a week or two to let it settle down, or check to see what other problem there might be such as pests. Flowering does involve some water loss for the plant. Flowering is also an indication that the plant is in its main growing season, so it is generally safe to water unless the plant is already bloated. In cooler climates, the light is poor and the weather is cool especially for the plants which flower later, so watering can cause problems. In these conditions it is usually best not to give any more water once the buds develop. Lithops will only abort a bud at this stage because of a major problem.

Your insect in the pictures is a Soldier Beetle, perhaps in the genus Polemius. These beetles feed on other insects, nectar, and pollen, they do not chew leaves. The damage to those leaves could be from a variety of other insects; try checking at night also.

I suggest using a vertical art on both sides to allow for symmetry. The art can be metal or canvas.

Hello there. All the recommendations that have been poste here are fantastic. You just need to choose what would work for you. How bare are the legs of your roses? If they are too bare you may want to choose some of the taller companions to covered them up, otherwise you can use the smaller ones. I’ll look through my pictures of companions and post some. I have just recently started getting good companions into my bed so they aren’t as full and nice as the other gardeners here. for the very front of the border some dianthus can be nice and evergreen. They come in many colors. My all time favorite companion is Salvia. All kinds of salvia. May night and New dimensions rose salvias are everywhere in my garden. the purple blooms go well with everything to my eyes and it is easy to grow. Lavender dies here in the wet clay soil. Clematises will also scramble all over beds and add lots of color. Also don’t forget other roses. There are many polyanthas and hybrid musks or groundcover roses that can be added to the bed in front of your other roses. drift roses are great for bordering beds Here the hybrid musk Dr. Korms is covering the bare legs of Benjamin Britten. Hybrid musk Ballerina covering the legs of the climber orchid masterpiece Good luck!