The Scourge

Most people trying to maintain a lawn seem to "hate" these plants. They spray them, dig them out, pluck off the flowers before they go to seed….anything to keep the yellow bursts of color from popping up amidst their green grass.

But have you ever really looked at the lowly dandelion? This is one beautiful flower. Can't even begin to count the multiple petals. And what perseverance! These yellow orbs pop up every year. For those living on lawns where home owners do a lot of mowing, they may be low to the ground as if trying to hide and quickly flower before the mower passes by again.

But give one an un-noticed corner or an alleyway…leave it alone and just look at what happens! Big, bold, beautiful….tall!

Wikipedia defines the dandelion like this: "Taraxacum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to Eurasia and North and South America, and two species, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, are found as weeds worldwide." 

So it seems that this pop of bright yellow is considered a weed wherever it grows - no matter that the leaves can be included in a salad, that some people make dandelion wine, no matter that the flower just looks happy! It's a weed….with determination, the "try-try-again" spirit and a "never give up" attitude.

Weeds! Poor things - but don't tell this one - it's loud and proud!