Shasta flowers are fairly ephemeral ==>>> flora means... that the flowers last barely a day or two ... you must deadhead them ... if you want bloom to continue.. and i suspect.. that she said this.. because you took a pic of a wilting old flower ... one that should be dead headed off very soon ... not sprayed for bugs ... NEVER spray the flower itself.. it will die immediately ... you seem to be on the verge of thinking.. that you have to destroy every bug in your yard .. and i want to dissuade you from thinking such ... other than finding an earwig.. what damage is associated with it??? .. and if you cant.. then ignore the earwigs ... do a little research and find out.. that a vast majority of their diet.. is dead material.. though sometimes.. with high population.. they can scar plants.... but rarely if ever... kill things outright ... ken

Hi taraleigh, So far, it sounds like you've done a good job with your garden by planting things that will thrive with the good drainage that your sandy soil likely has. The only plant I could see being a problem may be the Bee Balm, since it likes rich, constantly moist, humusy soil, and can develop powdery mildew if its in a crowded spot. It sounds like you have kind of a "Cottage Garden" look going on in this bed, so I wouldnÂt worry too much about "casual" style plants next to more formal ones. In general, I think the soil conditions, moisture, PH (acid, neutral or alkaline) and light conditions that different varieties of plants need to be healthy is the main thing people should concern themselves with when planting a new garden. Then you can find plants that you like the look of, that thrive in the conditions of your particular garden area. The bloom time of various flowering perennials, as well a garden's ability to look good in the fall and winter is also a consideration. I would just "google" each of your plants, check their water, sun, and soil PH requirements, and provide them with what they need. At this point in the summer, I wouldn't transplant anything, so hopefully you are pleased with how your garden area looks for now. If you donÂt like the placement of anything, I would wait until the spring to move it. As far as your overall garden design goes, I agree with laceyvail about the arrangement. You didn't say what direction the sun is coming from in relation to this garden bed, but you may want to check that the more drought-tolerant plants are on the side that gets the most hot afternoon sun. Also, be sure that anything tall isn't creating an excessive shade area over smaller plants that needs full sun. You will have some autumn interest with your "Blue Star" aster, "Autumn Joy" stonecrop, "Blanket flower", and Artemisia "Silver Mound". Personally, I would have added some low-growing evergreen shrubs that tolerate sandy soil, such as Common Bearberry / Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) to this bed, but that would just be my preference as far as some winter interest. Not sure what your soil PH is, but your soil would need to be acidic, sandy soil to grow Kinnikinnick. The foliage of your daylilies, asiatic lilies, veronica, bee balm, delphinium, "Snow In Summer", and Shasta daisy will likely die back to varying degrees in the winter in Zone 5. But in Zone 5, the bed will most likely be covered in snow for much of the winter, so you won't notice the dormant foliage as much. In the fall or spring, you can always add an evergreen small shrub or two that tolerates sandy soil. This fall, you may also want to add some spring-flowering bulbs, so that you have some early spring interest in this garden plan. Be prepared to be pulling up some of those "Snow in Summer", Artemisia "Silver Mound", and Shasta daisies if they get too invasive in this bed. Daylilies can have buds on them for many, many days before they bloom. I prefer the pretty lemony-yellow of the "Happy Returns" to the margarine-yellow of the "Stella D'Oro", but they are both pretty easy to care for daylilies, and both bloom well. The "Stella D'Oro" is really tiny. As far as colors go, I like to keep plants with blossoms on the red-orange side of the color spectrum (such as your "Black Bird" Lily) away from plants that have purple or blue-ish blossoms (such as your delphinium, and "Lavender Joy" lily, but this is just my personal preference color-wise. Hope this helps and good luck with your new garden!

~lurking~ Would this be for seeds or plants? I have terrible luck with bare root plants. I've killed everyone I've ever gotten! I wouldn't have much to trade as far as plants. I just started Gloriosa daisies, Gaillardia, Coreopsis & English Daisies this year. I only have established NOID black-eyed Susans and Purple Coneflowers. I've been working a little more on my perennials this year. I too love daisy type flowers. Don't mind my ramble! Becky

When grown indoors these need full light. As with many other house plants this kind wants liberal watering and regular fertilization during the summer, while when conditions turn dull in winter the watering needs to be scaled way back, fertilization discontinued until spring. Alternanthera in particular also needs frequent pruning in order to remain attractive. If the example shown were mine, with it now being May I would cut it way back and move it to a bigger pot, using soil based potting medium.