Coffee for Roses by C.L. Fornari

Gardening myths have been handed down from generation to generation ~ some true and useful and others a waste of our precious time!  My grandfather used to tell me that his parents had the most beautiful roses just outside their front porch.  He claimed it was because his mother used the soapy water from washing their clothing to water them.  He also said that the boys on the porch wouldn’t use a spittoon for their tobacco, but they’d spit on the roses. I also remember my own grandmother collecting my grandfathers ashtrays and throwing the ashes into the dirt below the roses! Not sure what she thought the tabacco did, but I can assure you – she never had blackspot! 

The funny thing about this story of my grandparents, is that I’ve read from several sources that the best way to control aphids is to mist your roses with a spray bottle of one quart water combined with two tablespoons of dish soap. It does work ~ I personally have tried it.  So maybe my great-grandmother was on to something by throwing the soapy water over the porch that watered her roses. 

This book “Coffee for Roses and 70 other Misleading Myths about Backyard Gardening” by C.L. Fornari that I recently enjoyed reading was a super fun read for me! I felt it was worth sharing with you, my gardening friends!!!! I honestly read it cover to cover and learned so much! Many gardening myths that I’d never heard of and others that I’ve now learned I’ve done it right, or wasted a lot of time doing it the way I learned.

One ‘myth’ that I found interesting was that my annual routine of religiously pruning the Rhododendrons after they bloom may not have been necessary. As I’m sure many of you know the hours I am speaking of…hours of standing with your back partially hunched over, dodging the remaining bees that buzz around us and those sticky spent blooms that stick to your clothes and gloves. I wonder if I’ll be daring enough to try this idea next year to just those spent blooms “just be” and see how the following season of bloom production turns out. The part of me that is totally OCD about my gardening rituals may take over ~ but if I can skip this task for a year I might enjoy a little more time on the patio instead!

I don’t grow vegetables….every year I say I’m going to try it ~ but it just hasn’t happened quite yet.  However, I know quite a few of you do ~ so I can’t help but share this interesting tid bit. Adding sugar to the soil where you grow your tomatoes will not alter the taste of your tomatoes…but how fun would that be if it would?

Every page is full of interesting, but more importantly tried and true gardening tips! A book full of advice as to where to put your energy and when to let nature just work it’s own miracles!

I know you want to know if the color “RED” really is what attracts the hummingbirds?  Do rusty nails help color the blooms of a hydrangea? Or, are you able to winter over your geraniums? Does mulching with cedar keep insects out of the garden beds? Curious what it says about sealing the ‘wounds’ on a tree? Should I put rocks in my planters when I am planting my container gardens? How about adding eggshells, banana peels and coffee grounds in the soil – why do we do it, is there a benefit?

Well all these questions along with so many more are answered right here in this book…“Coffee for Roses and 70 other Misleading Myths about Backyard Gardening” by C.L. Fornari

Go ahead and order one for yourself and gift one to a friend!  it’s a great book ~ one that I plan to keep in my own garden shed! I can see myself referencing it again and again, making my own notes as I do! You can order your own by clicking here! 

Would love to hear your gardening myths, annual rituals and tid bits that you have been handed from another! Does it work? Can’t wait to read what you share! xoxo, tracie