Picking flowers and foliage from my garden for indoor arrangements lets me examine plants closer than I normally would. For example the gold-leaved dogwood along the driveway looks beautiful to all who drive by, but once I cut some of its foliage to use in a floral foam wreath, I discovered the back of the leaves were covered with scale. Scale are insects that look like white or brown bumps on the back side of leaves. They suck sap from leaves and can weaken the plant. In the garden it is difficult to dislodge the insects from large trees. The bugs are a feast for the birds. On smaller plants and indoors the scale can be washed off with insecticidal soaps.  On foliage I cut for flower arrangements I wipe the scale off with a soapy rag and dispose of the insects in the garbage.