Some Love for the Dandelions

Did you know the Dandelion is actually considered an herb? The season is certainly upon us which can be a menace to most of us - whether a gardener or just in mowing your front lawns.

They are part of the larger Asteraceae family which makes them cousins of everything from Sunflowers to Asters to Daisies. They get their common name from the French phase "dent de lion" - meaning tooth of the lion. Because of their single taproot, they go deep and are difficult to purge from your lawn. Not to mention the 100s of flowerets that can populate off a single dandelion head.

In spite of all these bad qualities, the plant does have many redeeming traits if we are able to overlook their persistence. Every part of the plant has a use - the flower, the leaves and the root. Most of us have heard of Dandelion Wine. It is not the most pleasant taste being bitter, but it is still an old farm recipe. It can work also as a tea - hot or iced. The greens when cooked are high in iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium. The root, like Chickory, can be used as a substitute Poor Man's coffee.

Their whispy parachutes of white can travel up to 5 miles in gusts of open wind. So even though you may rid your yard of them, chances are they are going to find you one way or another. Because they one of the first blooms to arrive, they can play an important role for early pollinators. I do pull mine out, but because I have plenty of other Spring blooms for be options.

I bring them up with a sense of childlike joy. Plucking them from the yard and brushing them onto a nose to leave a blush of yellow is something I remember fondly. Or sometimes playing with them as a paintbrush in my watercolors to make some original artwork. And of course the daisy chains made into a crowns or a necklace. For most of us, it is likely a love/ hate relationship. But this is their time and let's celebrate the season.