Two major setbacks for summer gardens are insects and diseases. It is hard to effectively control insect pests and diseases without encountering an expense. Some gardeners have adopted the container or mini-garden approach but fail to realize that insects enjoy feeding on container plants as much as those grown in a garden bed. In fact, because of better soil and closer attention to care, container-grown vegetables usually have more luscious foliage, making them even more inviting to insects and diseases than those grown in the garden. The tried and true summer crops are okra, southern peas, peanuts, and sweet potatoes.
Ornamental grasses are among the easiest ornamental plants to grow in the landscape.
The variations of growth habit available make them suitable for a wide range of landscape applications. Some grow tall enough to serve as an effective screen and others make outstanding specimen or accent plants. There are also low growing species, which form mounds, making them useful as border or edging plants. Many ornamental grasses have attractive flower spikes, which are suitable for use in dried flower arrangements. The June beetles are members of the Colleoptera family of which there are over 100 North American species.