El Jardín de los Hermanos

The ban on Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) was one of those events that marked history with a weird feeling of remorse. Although the discovery of the compound had been the reason Dr. Pauly Müller got his Nobel prize in 1945, it turned out, 30 years later, to be a threat to all life on the planet. From birds to plants, from bugs to humans, DDT was mean. But in 1945 it was just a modern miracle.

According to its inventor DDT was so safe you could eat it, yet the Koumori Brothers were not so sure about that. That’s why calculated precautions were to be taken. They got a small batch of the chemical and conducted five experiments to determine its dangers. Five specimens were selected and then they sprayed the compound and waited. Right after 30 minutes of applying it, the plants stopped talking completely. No more words. No sounds. No voice god damn it! Five out

of five plants lost their ability to speak. It was a pretty disturbing thing since one
of the chosen herbs happened to be very close friends with the brothers. A most distinguished monocotyledon lost its voice that day, with four other brave plants who shut up because of that grimful experiment. The whole garden tried to protest when the Nobel prize was awarded, but of course they couldn’t express their feelings. They couldn’t walk, or march and object the ceremony. After all, they were plants!

Unfortunately, because of its high efficiency as an insecticide, DDT became so popular it spread around the gardens like napalm. Sooner or later most plants lost their ability to speak. From flowers to funghi, Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane did not forgive no victims, and within five years all gardens went completely silent.

The brothers tried to make them speak to no avail. Not a single word came out. Not even by playing their favorite music, no, the garden couldn’t talk like it once did. At their old age, the brothers kept speaking to the verdure, but conversations remained one sided. Since then, people have tried to talk on behalf of the plants, arguing for their rights, but the best thing we have done for them as of to-day, is hanging little signs that say: “Do not step on the flowers”.