Schoolhouse, what variety of hollyhock is that with the "fig" or "maple" type leaf? I have two with that leaf shape and they are gorgeous. But, the round leaf (that looks like a lily pad) gets that awful rust and looks horrid.

As of last night's thunderstorm the total rainfall for May here is 7.3"! That's more than 3 times our normal accumulation. It would normally be mid July before we had accumulated that much rain since the begining of May. So if June turns out to be fairly dry, there should be enough accumulated misture in the soil to get most things through the month :-)

Snails are the big problem here so far - there's been a HUGE population explosion. A big snail munched though some stems of my beautiful Vyvyan Pennell clematis. Mr Snail met his death for that crime - but so did 4' of Vyv :-(

-frogview, the "fig" leaf hollyhocks are Alcea rugosa, the Russian hollyhock with yellow flowers. They are known to be more resistant to rust and other diseases than your regular hollyhock...

I have found a lot more slugs than usual this year. Every time I move a potted plant or ws jug there is one! Even a couple in the compost?! Guess they have been prolific because of the cool temps we have had for the most part...and the rain.

*Knock on Wood* I haven't seen to many other bad bugs about. I did find some strange small black beetle like things with orangeish shoulders on a peony the other day. There are some holes chewed in the buds so I am not sure if it is them doing the damage or something else?

Saturday it POURED and then hailed. Some of my poor newly planted veggies got a bit shredded. Not too much more damage aside from that though.
CMK

Yes! It's an aphid nation out there! Of course that brings the ants. Now here come the wasps. I can see little caterpillars swinging from trees making their descent into my beds. =-O There are deer and dog ticks galore, and I don't even go into the woods. Next up? I KNOW the beetles will be here in 4 weeks.

We've not had as much rain as you folks, but after the extreme heat of last summer, it's like the insects are on a tear. I remember a few summers ago when we had so much rain that our garage doors looked zebra striped from all the slugs. I shudder to think what the next few weeks will bring.

ps the reason I'm inside right now on a beautiful Memorial Day, is that while I was outside with the family, a dog tick jumped on me. I bushed him off and went promptly inside. I don't do ticks.

christinmk,...I have one with the "fig" leaf red, and one white. could it be something else?

We've been having a lot of rain and cold weather, so the bugs haven't wanted to visit here yet. I'm still trying to decide if I should transplant bushes & flowers I bought earlier this month or wait. The nights are still in the low 30's. The pics I see on this forum remind me why I love to garden, even if we had a bit of snow yesterday. I can't wait for the mosquitoes when it does finally warm up!!!

Because it's been raining so much (seems like forever!) there are lots of mosquitoes. Just waiting for some heat so they can disappear. Haven't seen much else altho it's early - just the usual bees, ants, and the occasional fly. We don't have slugs as it's normally very dry. Have seen maybe 2 in 20+ years and they probably came in with plants.

I would love to have some of your rain, schoolhouse. It is mercilessly hot and dry. It was 94 yesterday and today as well. The bad thing is the Japanese Beetles are here early!

Everything else has been early, so why not the beetles. Hate the little appetites on the hard shell.
kay

A friend told me yesterday that the Old Farmer's Almanac says our area will be in a drought this summer. I knew I should have rigged up a couple of rain barrels.

Yep, those JPs will probably be fierce this year as last year there wasn't that big of an infestation. I think that's the cycle - one year bad, next year not so bad, ect.

-frogview, didn't know there were any others with 'fig leaves', but turns out there are. This is what I came up with when I googled 'fig leafed hollyhock' ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Alcea ficifolia

Thanks a heap!

Yup, here too! I worked in the garden yesterday, temp was 92. I was constantly being swarmed by little nap type bugs and they bit! Today my neck and my ears are all little bumps from the bites! Grrrr... I hate to use commercial bug spray, but I just might have to.

Has anyone tried vanilla extract? Someone told me that it worked for them...

oops, I meant NATs not naps. Guess I should do a better job proof reading before I hit submit.