I'm writing to all my gardening friends to make sure you don't miss these two excellent PBS programs dealing with Nature. They are archived on the PBS site and you can stream either one on your PC.

The first, "The Botany of Desire" has a racy title and is quite fascinating, but actually covers the origins of some of the world's most popular plants, the need for biodiversity and preservation of native species, and the problems and risks created by modern industrial farming. The link below is a 5 minute trailer, which then gives you the option of watching the entire 1:55 hour program or selected chapters by topic. The trailer is here:

http://video.pbs.org/video/1220836827/

The second is "Silence of the Bees". The dwindling populations of native honeybees around the world is alarming -- Especially since the stinkbug invasion the past two years has led to widespread use of systemic pesticides in the US that are banned in Europe due to their observed link to Colony Collapse Disorder. The gardening websites I frequent now have threads raving about the benefits of Ortho Flower Fruit and Vegetable Spray which contains neonicotinoid neurotoxins.

According to the product label, this chemical is toxic to humans, just not as toxic as it is to insects. It is a systemic insecticide, meaning it is absorbed into the capillary system of the plant - you can't get rid of it by washing, peeling, etc., but you can pass it on to your baby if you are pregnant or nursing. It is also exuded into the nectar and pollen -- thus poisoning all pollinating insects, not just honeybees.

Albert Einstein once said, "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

Anyway, this link gives you the option of watching the entire program or selected segments:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/introduction/38/

Finally, if you follow Dr. Mercola as I do, here's a link to his article discussing the health implications of the above topics. (Click on the link below.) Also be sure to check out the readers' comments following the main article.

I hope you find this information helpful. If so, feel free to pass it along to your friends. Here's to happy and healthy gardening!

Rick _in_VA

Here is a link that might be useful: Health Impact of Dwindling Bee Populations