Persian Shield with sweet potato vine. Lower left is a ‘Goshiki’ Osmanthus.

Visitors have asked me about the insect holes seen here in pots next to my front door, as in “What are you going to do about them?” 

Now I try to avoid lecturing people but in these cases I can’t help but explain that I like seeing evidence that my plants are feeding insects. No sign of the insects themselves, so I haven’t a clue which ones, and I don’t care.

I also don’t care that the plants in these pots don’t flower and aren’t “pollinator-friendly.”  I don’t want wildlife there, next to the front door and where I have to reach over plants to get to my spigot.  Plus with no blooms to encourage, I don’t have to feed them. 

On the other hand, Persian Shield and sweet potato vine, even away from direct sun, are thirsty AF! When it’s super-hot and dry they wilt so pitifully, I sometimes water them twice a day.  Here’s another sign of  insects dining on leaves in my garden – on blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum or, as I call them, hardy ageratum).  With long-lasting blooms covered with pollinators, I can’t imagine thinking the leaf holes are a problem. The leaves look different, but they’re still pretty. 

Mildew on a euonymus hedge in my neighborhood.

Signs of disease on plants are another thing entirely!  In my decades of gardening I’ve seen my fair share of disease symptoms, I guess, but they don’t last long because I banish the plants from my garden.  I have no patience for sickly plants. 

Diseased plants look really ugly but I’m not going to spray them with anything, no matter organic or synthetic.  Okay, if I were gardening to feed my family, I’d probably make different choices but for a purely ornamental/pollinator garden like mine, it’s not worth it.  

Anyway, diseased plants just give me an excuse to try different plants, especially plants I’ve never grown before. So in the end, disease may have a role to play – steering us toward more resilient, self-sustaining plants. If we put away from our old sprayers.