I inherited my love of gardening from my dad. When my parents built our family home in 1954, there was nothing but farmland behind us. Dad was excited to have a yard of some size so he could finally have a garden. As he was “turning dirt” (by hand, of course), the farmer behind asked if he would like some cow manure to get his garden going. Since our home, and much of Green Bay, was on hard clay, my dad said he’d love some. Soon, the farmer tractored on over an entire wagon full! Needless to say, that was the start of a beautiful, black dirt garden my dad maintained for 52 years.
Dad was growing organic before it was cool, composting from the start. He originally started with a simple pile of “stuff” – dead leaves, grass, dead plants, kitchen scraps, and an occasional newspaper ripped up for the “browns.” Years later, Dad built a crude wooden box that he tended. He sprinkled of lime now and then to keep any potential odors at bay. An amazing, and delicious, gardener, he had the most beautiful soft, fine black dirt. Sometime I’ll tell you about all his other weird concoctions for a beautiful yard and garden.
After he retired, he found he had a hankering to try roses and planted a couple bushes. His favorite was his Dolly Parton, a hybrid tea rose. Old Dolly had big, beautiful red/orange blossoms and she smelled positively heavenly….fits the name, don’t you think!? Year after year, Dolly bloomed multiple times each season. We all loved her.
Dad’s Secret
So, when we moved into our home in 1999 I told my dad I was going to try my hand at roses. And that’s when he shared his secret….”You have to feed them breakfast a couple times a week.” WHAT??!!
Dad’s secret was cut up banana peels and crumbled eggshells. Can you believe it? Every time he ate a banana for breakfast (which was every day), each peel was cut and collected in a zip bag in the freezer. Every eggshell was dried in the microwave, crumbled to a fine powder, and collected in an old coffee can. Twice a week, Dad would carefully place a bit of both magical ingredients around the crowns of his rosebushes. No fancy sprays; no fancy fertilizers; no special treatment like blood meal when he planted them. Just banana peels and eggshells.
My Own Rose Garden
It was a pretty big day when I had my new garden beds ready for planting. Mom dropped dad off so he could supervise my rose planting. He showed up toting 4 bags of bananas and an almost-full gallon-zip bag of eggshells. As soon I told Dad I was going to try my hand at roses, he had started my banana bags and eggshell can. He’d been squirreling them away for 6 months! At this point, my dad was 83 years old and in declining health. But he pitched right in, improving the holes I’d dug and carefully surrounded each rose crown with his magical breakfast.
For years, every time I visited my parents, I was sent home with one or two zip bags of frozen banana peels which I promptly put on my roses. But the real jackpot was when he sent me home with a 30-oz can FULL of eggshells! This went on for years, and even after my parents moved into an apartment Dad still collected banana peels and eggshells for me. His favorites from my garden were my Mr. Lincoln and Peace roses. I used to love bringing my dad rose blooms!
Pops passed away in 2011, and my roses haven’t been the same since. Unfortunately, I never got in the habit of freezing peels and drying eggshells. I think it’s about time I started. When I’m feeding my roses breakfast, I know my dad will be by my side.
