Don’t be afraid of the bees’ buzz in your garden

Iowa gardeners who spot a warning flash of yellow-and-black should think twice before they go for the spray to make bees bug off. TV garden-show host Rebecca Kohls says bees are buzzing helpers that will make your garden grow. She says plants need fertilization, meaning pollinating, if they’re going to successfully flower and “set fruit.” Only bees will do that for you, according to Kohls who is a certified weatherwoman and syndicated cable-TV gardener. Kohls says we can be a bit “nuts” about having a perfect garden, but shouldn’t try to make it insect-free. She tries to encourage people to think of your garden as yourself…you wouldn’t eat or drink pesticide chemicals, so don’t put them on the garden plants, which are alive as well. Like not over-medicating yourself for every sniffle, Kohls advises gardeners to lay off the chemicals every time they see a bug. She says you should only resort to remedies if there’s “a crisis situation,” and she always recommends trying organic methods first because every insecticide and pesticide kills important soil bacteria as well as both the good and the bad bugs.