I get those yellow/orange aphids on my H. linearis any time I put the plant outside. I have only ever seen them on H. linearis and on nothing else in the yard - at all, so I don't know where they come from and why they like H. linearis so much. A little Ivory or Dove dish soap in a spray bottle of water should kill them on contact. You could even add just a bit of alcohol to the mix and I would think the buds would be OK, and not damaged by the treatment. I think I read that none of the systemic insecticides go into the flower buds so treating with a systemic won't do anything to keep the sh!ts at bay. Good luck, it's never fun to find bugs of any kind, although, aphids are one of the easier bugs to control. Mike

BKW-- I had a problem with someone in the bathrooms forum where I did a shower for them and we had some problems. Their so called "expert" told her that I, along with the industry experts at JB's forum had no idea what we were talking about, and that the problem was this and that. Even after I proved to them they were wrong, they still insisted that they were right, and to anyone with any kind of working brain, to see the pics I showed them, you wouldn't even need to know anything about tile to know they were wrong. Even now they refuse to back off their "diagnosis".

I would like to trade for your Eva's Purple Tomato, I have lettuce seeds from Hungary, Turkey, The Netherlands and California . let me know which one you would like , thanks tracer411@msn.com

Over time my eyes have become very sensitive and itchy. I've always worn eye makeup -- tons and tons. I never go out without eye makeup. Love it but the last few years, just putting on eye liner is very itchy. So I have some work arounds. First, I use Visine soothing drops before trying to put on any makeup. I like Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes liner pencils -- soft and not too expensive. Sephora has them. Then I fill in with Milani eye liner. It's inexpensive and has an accurate brush. Drugstore.com has it. I've gone around with mascara but always come back to Lancome. They have a base coat/lash conditioner that makes the mascara go on easier and say on very well without irritation. Another mascara that has worked well is Laura Mercier though it didn't thicken enough for me LOL. There are a few removers that work well. I find I need more than one. Lancome's Bi Facil is my longtime staple. It gets most any eye make up off very easily. But then I go over my eyes with the Eye Scrub Lyban linked above -- also from drugstore.com It's sterile in sealed pouches and removes the little bits. I also sometimes use Klorane Floral lotion which is very mild. My eye lids were awfully dry a few years ago -- my skin has become dryer over all. I use Mario Badescu Special Eye Cream V every night. It's sheer and doesn't irritate. Mario Badescu, in NYC., is a salon that makes their own products which are quite gentle. I order those online and usually wait till they have a % off sale and free shipping around holidays. Their emails let you know. They are the best quality/value I've found overall for skin care and the choices are extensive. They have 8 different eye creams depending on skin needs. They also give free samples with order. And their Glycolic Foaming face wash removes all traces of makeup after the two removers -- but leaves skin moist. But there's a whole menu of those too, geared to skin type. I also really love their face creams -- it's hard for me to get any that really moisturize but theirs do. So many suggestions! Will be interesting to see what you like.