We had a few days of heavy rain this week, and the flowers are showing their appreciation. Three rose bushes used to line the walkway up to our house. They were stunning in the early spring and the fall, but most of the summer they were covered with piles of Japanese Beetles. We tried different methods to get rid of them - bug bags, planting chives, chemicals, even handpicking them in the morning and dropping them into a bucket of soapy water. But they kept coming back. We probably wouldn't have minded them as much if the roses were in a less conspicuous spot. So we gave away two of the bushes and moved the third into an island bed where the beautiful blooms would be noticed when they presented themselves, but the beetles would not be. We planted various perennials in place of the roses, and so far the beetles seem to be ignoring them. The bees, on the other hand, are ever-present, but they are welcome guests.