Carygardener, I think you convinced me to start my plants from seed. I paid a good price for the 3 Daisy plants I bought. Thanks Happyintexas! Good news is that at the base of the problem plants there is nice new green growth! Thanks Ellen, At the beginning of the season I sprinkled garlic powder at the base of plants to keep the rabbits away. I worked for a while. This was before the Daisy's though. I do though put some Garlic powder in the pepper spray since I know the rabbits don't like it. I have not sprayed the daisy's for a while now and they are coming back at the base. As far as ingredients the only thing I put in the solution is pepper and garlic. I read about soap and egg whites. Never liked the idea of soap and did not like the idea of spoiled spray that I imagine would be caused by the egg whites. It seems to work on all but the viola's that I have. The rabbits just love the flowers of the Viola for some reason. I spray in the evening. A2zmom, I live in Mercer County. My raised garden the soil is a dream. I spent a lot of time working on the soil. The other gardens I amended pretty well. It is a real drag digging in areas other than the gardens, especially when it has not rained in a long time. It is as hard as cement! Ken

It makes me wonder if there's a genetic component to how strong the smell is for some poeple-- the way roughly 10% of people think cilantro tastes like soap, because of their genes. There are a few mentions out there of them being stinky flowers: "Old-fashioned daisies are a must-have plant in cottage gardens and make a great addition to bouquets, at least as far as looks go. Not all, but some daisies bring a stink to the garden and bouquets that resembles either cat urine, toe jam or cow manure, depending on whose nose is sniffing. This makes sense, since flies visit the blossoms to help with pollination. Not all varieties are malodorous. Buy daisies in flower so you can test drive the scent." (https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/14-stinky-plants-pictures) ...and several mentions of them being pollinated by flies. Which makes the smell make sense, I guess. Things that smell like poo will attract flies. Buying shasta cultivars in flower and "test-driving" the scent before bringing them home seems to make sense. I'm glad not all of them stink. I know it will be a long while before I bring home another batch!

If you become familiar with the genus "Monarda" or any other genus of wildflowers, you realize there are many more species out there than whatever cultivars are sold in a nursery. And they grow under wildly varying cultural conditions. Monarda citriodora is an upland plant - grows well in dry, lean, and rocky soil. Unlike Monarda didyma, which prefers a rich moist soil. Also, mine did not suffer from any powdery mildew or fungus last year, unlike the Monarda didyma. Token, your Monarda citriodora is more purple than mine. Mine was more a lavender pink color. Love the natural variations in color!

The black and black with orange Blister Beetles have been eating the leaves off of everything this year. Usually, its just the tomatoes, but this year with our drought, they are eating all leaves, even the English Ivy on our house! I pick them off and squish them. Fly spray killed the ones on the front porch that were eating the ivy off the pillars. Dang it! I've never seen them eat ivy before. Am finding them on nearly every plant and every flower. My hens won't eat them. YUCK! If I had guineas, they would disappear fast. When I had them before, they ate the heck out those black Blister Beetles - wasps too. I sprayed my Roma tomatoes with Liquid Sevin and it killed the Blister Beetles. They almost totally defoliated the plants though before I resorted to the Poison War. It got rid of the over population of grasshoppers too. Now they are at a manageable number. Mostly just little ones hopping about in the grass and native shrubs and the hens take care of them, if they can catch them, that is. But did you know that grasshopper poop is the best fertilizer in the world? I saw a documentary on them last year.