Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Green Eggs, But No Ham



Many years ago my father had a garden of rose bushes. My Dad was not the type of man you would think would care about roses, but he did, and tended to them with a lot of love and patience.  In the Southern California sun of my childhood, these roses bloomed and were utterly gorgeous.

What I didn't realize at the time was that my Dad was making his roses so beautiful by using ways that we now consider "green". I remember that whenever anyone used eggs in our house he would remind us to wash  out the shells and put them in the coffee can that he kept by the sink. Once a week he would crush them up and sprinkle them into the soil around his rose bushes.

He also saved coffee grounds and the occasional banana peel. He knew that banana peels that are cut up and buried in the soil are a natural pest control agent against aphids, which are very destructive to roses.

At the time I just thought my father was strange for doing all these things for his roses, but it turns out he knew exactly what he was doing. I wish he were here today so I could tell him he was "green" and didn't even know it. It turns out that sometimes Dads do know what they are talking about.
Who knew?

Above picture by Peonies and Polaroids

By Patricia

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