Hi, David, please give me your address. I will send you lily bulblets. You can send me a check for the postage later. My email address is pitimpinai@gmail.com Would you like tiger lily bulbs/bulbils too? I have a ton of them. I have just cut down lily stems so I won't be able to identify the bulblets.

What do you have for trade? I have red Lycoris radiata. Susan

The beetles and their larvae only eat stems and foliage - the bulbs are unaffected. So no need to dig up and clean or move :-) And the lilies should come back just fine next season. If the beetles are present in your area, there is not much you can do to deter them. Other than avoid planting lilies :-) Hand picking is the most effective if laborious solution. And there are some insecticides you can use but most will be broad spectrum and affect other, more beneficial insects as well. Neem oil is pretty benign and together with hand picking can reduce larvae as well as deter adult predation.

By fronting, I mean in front of the lilies - extend that bed to meet the other bed in the corner. Especially now that I see the wider picture. I would definitely make one big L-shaped bed in that corner. I personally would indeed still go with something evergreen, but that might just be me - I like to have greenery in winter (although, did you ever say where you are? Maybe you don't get much of a winter lol?) Anyway, if you think you have enough evergreens, then that's fine too. But I would still put in some kind of small shrub (deciduous if you don't want evergreens) or two - I just think the bed needs some kind of "heavy" anchor. I don't necessarily mean anything big or giant but just something a bit more... substantial than a perennial plant. There are many dwarf varieties of things now to choose from. And I certainly understand your desire not to have a shrub take up the whole bed - I'm dealing with that as well now that I'm switching to more shrub borders. Another way to add some differentiation from the lilies and dayliles, other than foliage shape, is perhaps foliage color. Something gold or chartreuse in front of those lilies may tie in the chartreuse from either side of them. Perhaps a gold spirea or abelia or sambucus, something along those lines. Lastly - and this is certainly a personal choice depending on many things including your preference, your desired garden-to-lawn ratio, and how much work you want to do, but I think I might, in addition to linking those two beds, I would make them a bit deeper as well - bring them out a bit. You say the arborvitae are crowding out the other plants, so I would dig the plants up and bring them out a bit. Good luck and let us know what you decide. It's always fun to see what people do with their gardens! :) Dee