1. Aphid Midge: These insects look like a delicate, small wasp. The larvae eats more than sixty varieties of aphids from the garden. You can attract them by growing plants with a lot of pollen and nectar.

2. Big-Eyed Bug: This is a fast-moving bug with large eyes and very small black spots on it’s head and thorax. They are usually found in field crops and orchards. The big-eyed bug eats leafhoppers, spider mites, plant bugs, aphids, and small caterpillars. This bug is a real asset to gardening.

3. Ladybug: The ladybug ranges in size from 1/16 to 3/8 inch and have round red, orange or yellow bodies with black markings. They prefer gardens that have a large amount of pollen and nectar-producing flowers. The ladybug is fond of aphids, mealybugs, small insects and scales. The Mexican bean beetle is related to the ladybug but is not beneficial.

4. Minute Pirate Bug: These bugs are 1/4 inch long in adulthood and feature a black and white pattern. Fast-moving like the big-eyed bug and attracted to gardens where goldenrod, yarrow, alfalfa, daisies, and other flowering, pollen-producing plants are grown. They eat small caterpillars, thrips, spider mites, insect eggs and immature leafhoppers.

5. Mealybug Destroyer: The adult mealybug is 1/3 inch long with an oval body and a coral-colored abdomen. Their wing covers are black. If mealybugs are present, the mealybug destroyer is there naturally and feeds on mealybugs in the garden.

6. Spined Soldier Bug: An adult grows to ½ inch in length. They are grayish brown and the shoulders of the thorax come to sharp points. Bugs of choice are caterpillars, armyworms, grubs, sawflies, and Mexican bean beetle larvae. The spined soldier bug likes the shelter of perennial plants near a garden.

7. Tachinid Fly: These bugs look like large, hairy houseflies and grow to a length of 1/3 to ½ inch long. The females deposit eggs that kill caterpillars of many pest species such as gypsy moths and armyworms. The adults feed on flower nectar and enjoy sweet clover, parsley and dill. Don’t kill the caterpillars with white eggs attached to them because the eggs will turn into more tachinid flies.

8. Tiger Beetles: Look for adults that range in length from ½ to 3/4 inches. They are long-legged and bright-colored and eat many kinds of pests. Plant perennials when gardening and the tiger beetles should follow.

9. Assassin Bug: This bug is ½ to 1 3/8 inches long and have a flattened look and elongated heads. They eat most common pests and are found naturally in any garden where pests live.

10. Bumblebee: The adults grow to 1 inch long and are plump with yellow and black striping. They have a hairy body and smoky-colored wings. The bumblebee is a pollinator and is attracted to pollen and nectar flowers.

1. The essentials must always be given major consideration.

Your flower garden must have an adequate supply of water, sunlight, and fertile soil. Any lack of these basic necessities will greatly affect the health of plants. Water the flower garden more frequently during dry spells.

When planting bulbs, make sure they go at the correct depth. When planting out shrubs and perennials, make sure that you don’t heap soil or mulch up around the stem. If you do, water will drain off instead of sinking in, and the stem could develop rot through overheating.

2. Mix and match perennials with annuals.

Perennial flower bulbs need not to be replanted since they grow and bloom for several years while annuals grow and bloom for only one season. Mixing a few perennials with annuals ensures that you will always have blooms coming on.

3. Deadhead to encourage more blossoms.

Deadheading is simply snipping off the flower head after it wilts. This will make the plant produce more flowers. Just make sure that you don’t discard the deadhead on the garden or mildew and other plant disease will attack your plants.

4. Know the good from the bad bugs.

Most garden insects do more good than harm. Butterflies, beetles and bees are known pollinators. They fertilize plants through unintentional transfer of pollen from one plant to another. 80% of flowering plants rely on insects for survival.

Sowbugs and dung beetles together with fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms are necessary to help in the decomposition of dead plant material, thus enriching the soil and making more nutrients available to growing plants.

Other insects like lacewings and dragonflies are natural predators of those insects that do the real damage, like aphis.

An occasional application of liquid fertilizer when plants are flowering will keep them blooming for longer.