Anney, I only grow (1) lima & (1) runner bean in my main plot; but I try to grow 2-3 rows, in different locations. Both of these are tall, free flowering, and more attractive to bees than common beans... so they make great barrier crops. I use pole yardlongs as barriers too, but they are less effective, since the blossoms close early in the day. Multiple rows can enable a variety to be a barrier for itself. Provided that I have enough seed, I grow a row of limas on the outside of the garden (facing my neighbors), with a second row of the same variety close to the center. If the bees are very active, the center row is more likely to "cross" with the outside row than with anything grown by my neighbors. As Fusion mentioned, cucurbits (such as squash, melons, & cucumbers) make great barrier crops. I grow a lot of bitter melon, which is a vigorous climber. When grown on a trellis, it forms a dense flowering barrier as tall as the pole beans (fragrant too, when in bloom). Trellised cukes or Tromboncino squash work well too. Instead of placing all cukes & bitter melon in one large planting, I divide them up into 2-3 smaller plantings, scattered throughout the garden. I do the same thing with okra, dividing it into several rows at different locations. For flowers, I use cleome, a flowering mallow (Malva sylvestris "Zebrina"), sunflowers, cosmos, and basil. These are also dispersed throughout the garden. I can't speak highly enough of the "Zebrina" mallow; it flowers heavily & continuously, and is a really great pollen source. I've seen 6-7 different species of bees at the same time on a single plant, and large plantings will attract honeybees. It volunteers heavily, but to me that is a good thing... I choose my weeds carefully. ;-) It has now displaced the 2 wild mallows that were native to my area. When all of these barriers are combined (which takes a bit of planning), the effect is to create a maze that controls and/or restricts the movement of pollinators, and provides numerous places for them to "wipe their feet" as they cross the garden.

Jeanie, there actually is a biting gnat that we used to have in the Sacramento Valley. It was a seasonal thing, and used to drive people crazy. They'd get in your hair, and ears, and everywhere. When I had to work outside, which was almost daily, I used to tie on a kerchief that was sprayed with DEET to try to keep them off my head. After nearly 3 years of fighting the mosquitos (there was a t-shirt with a huge mosquito and the logo 'official Colusa Co, bird' on it) and the biting gnats, I became so sensitive to DEET that I can't use anything at all that contains even a tiny bit of it. It makes me instantly and horribly ill. Maybe I can do some searching and find out what they actually are. I had wondered if they were around here this year, and had hoped they were not. Pat

I think Bob meant Rita Wilson not Ruth. I really had to dig to find her too. haha Bette Davis starred in "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" with Olivia De Havilland.

Jon Hamm is the same person who was Liz Lemon's 'living in the bubble" boyfriend, right? The one whose first date culminated in a conversation with his mom on her deathbed? If he is, then he's distinctly unqualified for this thread - I cite 'the bubble' as proof! (we LOVE 30 Rock in our house :))