Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Dandelion: Noxious Weed or Miracle Plant?

Since I spent part of last evening and part of this morning striving to eradicate said plant, I'm leaning toward the former.  However, when researching this post about dandelions, I stumbled across a herbal site that begs to differ:  The Dandelion: A Miracle Remedy.

Now, dear old dad used to talk about drinking dandelion wine and Daughter's dad - the chef - talked about making dandelion salad.  I've tried neither.  I only remember how painful it was to accidentally step on the remnants of dead dandelion plants littered across our lawn every summer.

On the other hand, I also remember how much fun it was picking dandelions for a pretty bouquet or checking to see if you like butter, or running around the yard blowing the seeds away.  Or even the morbid rhyme wherein you hold a dandelion flower with your thumbnail at the base and chant: "Lucy had a baby, but it's head popped off" - whereupon you'd pop the flower off the dandelion stem.  Gross, I know, but that was my childhood.

Nowadays, I'd just sit back and enjoy these yellow harbingers of spring - except there's a city ordinance against having them in your lawn.  Leave them be and I'll be subject to a ticket and a fine.  So I kill them.  :shrug:  When we have a place of our own, out in the country where nobody cares whether you have a lawn covered in yellow flowers, I'll leave them alone to reside amongst the white clover flowers and those tiny purple flowers (for which I have no name).

Which side of the fence are you on - noxious weed or miracle plant or just plain pretty?

4 comments:

  1. WEED! I like smooth green grass. *shrugs*

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  2. Well, my daughter thinks they're flowers. When she gives them to me, they're beautiful. When I have to pull them out of the yard, they're weeds. It's all about perspective.

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  3. I'm going to call it a miracle weed. Because sometimes I hate it, and sometimes I admire it.

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  4. I am personally in favor of fewer laws instead of more. And if we do have to create a new law it should be in an effort to protect the safety of people. Maybe I don't truly understand the dangers of dandilions, but I think whoever has the time to write such laws has too much time on his/her hands and has misplaced priorities.

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