This is the time of the year when gardeners are faced with a host of problems affecting their plants.

These problems can show up as weeds or pests such as insects, mites, mollusks and fungus. In our fast-paced world most gardeners want quick and easy solutions to their problems and have been conditioned by the chemical companies to think that the solutions come in a bottle or can.

In the 1940s with the introduction of the insecticide DDT, the lives of thousands of allied troops in Southeast Asia were saved by wiping out the mosquitoes that spread malaria and yellow fever. With such success in the war zone it was not hard to convince North Americans that chemical sprays were the answer to their pest problems in their home gardens and on the farm.

It was not until around 1973 after the publishing of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and some disturbing evidence about the cumulative nature of DDT, that the governments of Canada and the U.S. decided to ban the use of this pesticide. However, they did not ban the right to manufacture the product, meaning it can still be made and shipped to developing countries, some of which produce food for us. As one writer puts it, "the problems of today were the solutions of yesterday."

In spite of the hundreds of chemicals sprays that have been banned over the last three decades, we still have thousands more that have been licensed for farm and garden use. They are tested for oral dosage and dermal exposure but little is known about the interactions and long-term exposure to low-level concentrations. Apparently, it is not uncommon to find traces of 20 to 30 pesticides in still-water ponds. In highly developed residential areas there are more pesticides used per hectare of land than on many farms.

The pesticide/herbicide industry is a multi-billion dollar business that produces millions of tons of product each year. Unfortunately, none of the material is retrieved and therefore, has to be dispersed in our environment.

Many garden sprays and chemicals are used in an indiscriminate way. Home gardeners may not be too adept at identifying problems and will use a fungicide when an insecticide is required. A good example is the black, sooty mould often found on camellia bushes. The mould, although unsightly, is not a disease and need not be treated. The real culprit is the scale insect under the leaf that is causing the sap to fall on the lower leaf and create mould.

Indiscriminate spraying of everything that crawls or flies may do more damage to beneficial insects than to harmful ones. As the saying goes, when you kill a beneficial insect you inherit its work. Not only do you want to protect beneficial and predatory insects, but you want to make sure they have enough insects to feed on and survive in your garden.

Instead of rushing out to spray at the first sign of an infestation, it might be wise to wait and monitor the problem. Give the predatory insects a chance to move in and do their job. It might also be quicker, cheaper and safer to use a fine, high-pressure spray from the hose to blast a colony of aphids off your new rose shoots. Ask yourself if it really matters whether there is a small blemish on the rose leaves or a few minor notches in the rhododendron leaves.

This brings to mind a comment I heard the other day: "When I achieve personal perfection, I will expect it of my plants."

Most garden plants have dozens of different cultivars. By talking to fellow gardeners, checking catalogues and using trial and error methods, you can choose the plants that are most trouble free. For example, if you have a rose that is very susceptible to black spot and powdery mildew, it might be better to discard the bush rather than continually spray it. Many of the rhododendron species, including hybrids, are resistant to weevils because they taste bad.

Well maintained plants are less susceptible to disease and insect damage. Plants under stress emit xylene gas which seems to attract many insects telling them the plant is weak and in trouble. Using a mulch that will both conserve water and slowly feed the plants will help less drought-tolerant plants survive the summer and protect all plants from frost in the winter.