Preventive maintenance is the best way to limit the trouble you'll have with pests and adverse weather conditions. Most importantly, begin with healthy plants that are well suited to your site and local weather conditions. Diversify the mix of plants in your garden to make sure that a single pest or other adversity can't cause serious damage.
From that healthy start, keep up with housekeeping. Deadhead spent flowers and clear away debris, which often denies pests a place to hide or nest. Monitor the garden often for evidence of pest damage so you can stop a small problem before it becomes a big one. Use mechanical controls, such as barriers, traps, hand-picking and floating row covers, and enlist predators that feast on unwanted garden pests, such as chickens, frogs, birds, ducks, lizards, spiders, ladybugs and bats.
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A little preventive maintenance will go a long way in assuring a healthy garden.
