As a young girl growing up in Argentina, I was fortunate to be able to spend a great deal of time at a beautiful country house that my family owned. It was here that my love of gardening was seeded.
It was in my early twenties that I began experimenting with many different types of plants—seeing how I could help them to thrive. I must confess that, in those early days, I ruined some beautiful plants with what today I might call “chopping” rather than “trimming” or “pruning.” It takes many years of practice to develop an eye and hand that can artfully shape a plant or tree that accentuates and flows with its natural development.
Anyway ... one day, I noticed an ant. As I’m sure you can appreciate, ants rarely—if ever—arrive alone! I quickly saw that there was a heavy infestation of ants. I wanted to eradicate them quickly and entirely.
I sprayed the entire area with a fine and highly toxic powder. Sure enough, the ants were gone in a matter of hours.
Unfortunately, my pet cat, Delfina, ate some nearby grass that had been contaminated with the pesticide. Without going into details, she was poisoned and died in a very unpleasant way.
Already a devoted lover of animals (I have many to this day), this experience had an immediate and lasting effect on me. From that day forward, I committed myself to working in my garden without using chemicals. It is a commitment that I then carried into my business practices and have maintained since.
Each time my teams of gardeners and I successfully manage a pest situation for a new client, I give thanks to Delifina. She was the means by which I began to learn different, sustainable, organic ways of pest control.
Bless you Delfina and thank you!
