The Coastal Gardener:

The garden and horticulture exhibits at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar are widely regarded as the finest of any fair in California.

If you haven’t taken the short drive south to see the fair’s landscape displays, judged flower competitions and educational presentations then do so right away. The fair runs for only nine more days, through July 5.

If you want to make a really full day of the trip, do what I did and combine your visit to the fair with a stop at nearby Cedros Gardens, 330 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach, and Solana Succulents, 355 North Hwy. 101, Solana Beach.

Cedros is a great little treasure tucked into the trendy Cedros design district, while Solana Succulents is literally packed with hard-to-find succulent treasures.

Ask Ron

Question: I have so many Calosoma beetles in my house ... besides vacuuming them up, any suggestions on how to get rid of them? Don’t know how they walk in, but I get about three a day ... annoying and ugly.

Judy

Irvine

Answer: I don’t think there’s much you can do to prevent these in the house. Every few years Southern California experiences a population explosion of these critters. When this happens (last was summer 2007) they seem to show up everywhere. But the explosion only lasts for a few weeks and then things return to normal. Maybe this year is going to be another one of these “explosions.” We’ll see. In the meantime, I know large, shiny black beetles running around the house are a nuisance, but they’re not there with any intention, they’re just lost. They are a beneficial insect and are predatory beetles, feeding on grubs and other ground-dwelling soil pests.

ASK RON your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail stumpthegardener@rogersgardens.com, or write to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.

RON VANDERHOFF is the Nursery Manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar.