Large Yellow Dahlia, Red Yarrow, Wasp Mimic Mantidfly

I bought this lovely lemon yellow dahlia this spring.  The package showed red edging to the petals but it is still really nice plain yellow.  It's quite large - 4".  I really like dahlias but often have trouble with earwigs.  So far they haven't attacked this one although I've seen the odd earwig in the garden.

I rarely have success overwintering the dahlia tubers.  I watched a couple of Youtubers from Colorado who had substantial plantings of dahlias.  They got tired of digging them up, storing them and replanting them so they both independently tried to just put a  big mulch over them.  It worked quite well - about  80% survived.  So I am going to try that with the two dahlias I have planted in the ground.  They put a tarp on the ground over the dahlia tubers and then put lots of stray, leaves, etc.  They recommended not putting the mulch directly on the ground as it would make a cozy spot for mice and other little creatures.

The little yellow and orange dahlia that I planted in a pot I will try to overwinter in the pot in the basement. I will let it dry out and just give it a tiny bit of water once in a while.  At least the tubers shouldn't get moldy that way.

I bought this red yarrow recently.  I like yarrow but it needs a really good draining soil. My soil is on the heavy side so yarrow usually does not survive the winter.  It's not a temperature problem.  It's a drainage problem. I planted this one on a bit of a slope so perhaps I will have better success with it.

I saw this interesting insect on a clematis this morning.  I used Google.image.com to identify it.  On the Google image page there are two symbols (microphone, camera) to the right of the search bar.  Click on the camera and it gives you a page where you can upload a photo. It gave me several results which were all images or videos of my insect.  It is a Wasp Mimic Mantidfly and is a member of the Neuroptera family which includes lacewings.  It is mimicking a paper wasp. It eats small insect, particularly spiders.  Likes to be on the edge of woodlands which is exactly where it was.  The triangle up near its head is a folded up leg.  Always fun to see a new insect.