Every summer for the last four years, a cluster of male bees (genus Melissodes) finds this  Miscanthus sinensis the perfect place to spend each night.

Ever since I interviewed bee expert Stephen Buchmann a few years ago, I’ve had a soft spot for bees. He told me that one-third of our food supply is derived from insect-pollinated plants and that hundreds of fruits and vegetables would disappear if anything were to happen to the honey bee.

“It’s been stated that if there were no bees and other pollinators, it’s doubtful that the human population could survive for more than a few months,” he said.

Over the last few years, the decline in bee populations across the country has been well-documented. That’s why I was especially pleased to read about Gretchen LeBuhn in the August issue of Sunset Magazine.

Gretchen is an associate professor of biology at San Francisco State University and the founder of the Great Sunflower Project. Thank you, Gretchen!

It’s legal to garden in the nearly-nude, but who’d want to?

Perhaps you’ve read the story in the Denver Post about the two Boulder gardeners who were working in their front yard dressed like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Neighbors complained to law enforcement, but police said there was nothing illegal about gardening while wearing just enough to cover the bare necessities.

The couple’s landlord sent a letter saying their gardening attire was violating a clause in their lease that prohibits nuisance behavior.

I’m not here to take sides on the issue; I prefer to let all of the parties involved in this dispute solve it on their own.

But while working in the garden this weekend, I tried to imagine what it would be like to prune thorny rose canes, pull weeds and mow the lawn while in the buff.