Accepting Imperfection in the Garden

Despite our best efforts, our gardens don't always turn out the way we pictured them in our heads. Some things are simply beyond our control. Gardeners shouldn't be panicking every time they see a hole in a leaf or bean that's been munched on. That's hard to do when you only have a small garden and every plant counts, but it's still wise advice.

There will always be insects in your garden. Start to worry when there aren't. Some insects are pests, but it usually takes a whole lot of them to do real damage. So keep things in check. Most insects have their favorite plants; plant a lot of variety and confuse them. And even if your cosmos has a bad year, you can always enjoy your coreopsis.

Some insects are just around for a week or two. There's no sense spraying for Japanese beetles once they've burrowed into the ground to lay eggs. There's also no sense in spraying until you know what the problem is. Black mold on a leaf could man a plant fungus disease or it could be growing on aphid honeydew. Get rid of the aphids and you'll get rid of the mold.

This little guy to the right is a baby ladybug. She's going to be feasting on a whole lot of aphids during her lifetime. It's really important to start learning what insects are your allies in the garden and how to attract them. Then, even if you see one of the bad guys, you can relax and know that his time in your garden is going to be short.[http://gardening.about.com/b/2010/07/13/accepting-imperfection-in-the-garden.htm]