Wasn’t it Thomas Jefferson who talked about the blood of patriots being the natural manure (term for compost/fertilizer in those days) of the Tree of Liberty?
Maybe he mentioned the blood of the tyrants as well.
I don’t see any other solution.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” —Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787.