Question
i have beautiful bunches of marigold plants in the yard--suddenly the flowers are turning brown seeming to be dried up--not the normal browning as the flowers die off--soil is damp not soaked nor dry--i also have a miltona orchid and the leaves were abundant and it did flower but recently the leaves are yellowing and few are still left

Answer
Joan:
Check the leaves for spider mites.  These plants are spider mite magnets.  These 8 legged critters can make the plant look burned up even though the soil is moist. These critters are especially bad during the hot/dry conditions of summer.  These things are small, difficult to see. Suggest snipping off a few flowers and leaves that looked yellow or brown and carry them to your garden center and let those folks check.  They will probably need a magnifying glass to see them.

Regards
Steve