Delightful Dandelions

Winter has finally given way and spring is upon us. The buds are beginning to swell on the trees, the jostaberry, honeyberry and currents are leafing out. Mud season is coming to an end and the grass is beginning to green up. With all this activity one starts to contemplate lawn chores. Mowing, weed whacking, raking, weeding… enter the dandelion….

Now I know most people hate dandelions. They spend money on special tools to pull them, weed killers to destroy them and and they will succeed if its the last thing they do. Dandelions don’t exactly match the pristine town yard look. Well if you are one of these people hear me out. Just maybe by the end of this post you will start to look at “weeds” in a different light.

First lets talk about what a weed is. Personally I define a weed as any plant growing where I don’t it to. It doesn’t matter if its a traditional weed like knap weed or dandelion or a plant that I planted once and it went to seed or ran away from its mother plant if its not where I want it I call it a weed. So for the sake of argument lets go with that definition.

Now lets talk about how dandelions (Not a weed) can benefit you. Dandelions make excellent salad greens. They have many amazing nutrients in them including Vitamin A and B, calcium, Potassium and lots of fiber. According to Dr. Christopher’s herbal legacy they are in the top 4 greens for over all nutrition. As well as all these amazing nutrients they are one of the very first spring greens to pop up. Right after winter when our reserves are down and we need a boost dandelion greens are the way to go. They are easy to use. All you have to do is select a healthy plant that’s growing in the shade and pick a few leaves off to add to your salad. It is wise to be absolutely sure that its HAS NOT been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides and that pets have not had access to the plant. Not only can you eat the leaves as greens you can use the roasted roots for tea - a great coffee substitute - you can use the flowers to make lemonade, jelly and wine to name a few!! And the whole herb is a tonic medicinal herb!! Woo! Dandelions are so beneficial!

Now that we know how dandelions can benefit you lets talk about what they can tell you about your lawn. Yes dandelions are quite the talkers… ha ha ha! Just kidding, but seriously a lot can be learned by the plants growing in your lawn. Each plant has a job in nature. Some of them provide cover, some of them have tap roots that draw up water and nutrients, some of them break up the soil and some can provide nitrogen to other plants around them. Amazing! So what can dandelions do? Well first off they have a long tap root which helps to break up compacted soil. I don’t know about your yard but mine is defiantly a loved area to be…which means heavy traffic… which means compacted soil. And yes my yard has dandelions. That lovely long tap root - if you’ve ever pulled a dandelion I’m sure you used a different word to describe the root ha!! - also pulls up nutrients that the grass roots cannot reach. When the leaves die back they feed the grass around them! So cool!!! So dandelions benefit your lawn!! See not a weed.

We are going talk about one last way dandelions are amazing. It also benefits you but not immediately. As I said in the beginning Dandelions are one of the first plants up in the spring. They brave the cold weather, snow and frost like champs and because of that they also produce some of the first blooms of spring! Who needs the first blooms in spring? The pollinators! Those little yellow bundles of sunshine are absolutely packed will pollen and nectar aka bee food! Why do you care about the pollinators? Well because without those little buggies your vegetable garden would be severely lacking in produce.

There are so many benefits to that tiny little plant that is so hated. Medicine, food, beauty what more could we ask for? So have you come over to weedy dark side with me? Did I convince you to at least leave a little patch of sunshine in your yard? Will you add dandelion greens to your next spring salad or maybe sprinkle a few petals in your lemonade? I sure hope so!! One last thing before I leave you… did you know dandelions also come in pink and white?!!! Yes!!! Seriously. There are French pink dandelion greens that are large and delicious. There are Japanese dandelions that have extra long roots for roasting!! Yes people actually plant these intentionally. Me. I plant them intentionally. LOL!!!! This year my garden will have its very own pink and white and yellow blooming dandelions. I. Cant. Wait!!!!! Definitely not a weed.

Happy Spring Everyone!! Dandelions for all!!!