Yesterday, I stood on my porch grousing about the legions of dandelions encamped on my lawn. Hours later, my goddaughter Isabel stood among them, delighting in their presence. Where I saw weeds, she saw limitless bouquets. Where I decried a villain, she beheld a beauty. Sometimes all you need is a bouquet of perspective to transform the irksome into the acceptable (but I’m still getting out the mower), and truthfully, sometimes the road to wisdom is a longer route for some of us.
Front porch sages Boz and Gracie provided further insight, advising it’s a better day for napping than mowing anyway ( a truth I can readily subscribe to).
What I was blogging about one year ago: Peter’s Honey Fig: My New Favorite
No truer words Tom. I just wish that road to wisdom wasn’t so darn bumpy.
True June, but I must say your road sure has some really delicious pit stops along the way.
My daughter brings me many dandelion bouquets every summer, and they’re one of the few flowers she’s allowed to pick from ANY yard.
AAAh! I saw some of these turned into preserve on some French blogs and in my neck of the wood we eat the most delicious wild dandelion salad.
At the risk of splitting hairs, I believe your flowers are likely false dandelions (Hypochaeris radicata), also known as catsears. True dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) tend to bloom in the spring, catsears in summer. A lovely yellow flower either way!
John Kimble do split hairs, good sir! My dear neighbor Phoebe also mentioned I was mistaken, but was at a loss for the true name. I told her I’d do a little research, but you John have save me the trouble (as I’ve never known you to be wrong). So here’s to truth about false dandelions, now off to tell Phoebe and admit once again she was right.
My fatherhas many of them in his larger garden!
They are lovely & yellow is my favourite colour !
You know how I feel about dandelions. Love ’em. I’m intrigued by your late-summer variety. I’m not sure I’ve spotted them in Maine. What exactly is a false dandelion? Google, here I come!
Great pictures! I really have come to embrace dandelions as well as moss. Why fight it?!
Hi Tom. I stumbled upon your page today. Very fun! Great pictures, stories and adventures! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks Deidre, and it looks as if your family has some great adventures in North Dakota to share as well.
When I was much, much younger, I was paid 50 cents/bushel for dandelion flowers by my home town’s local wineries. (A good day was $1.50.) The greens that were left, were often used by my mother for salads. These days, I mow them down as well.
One of the orchardists at the Ballard Farmer’s Market told me his orchard cover crops/understory are alfalfa, dandelions, and mint.
Dandelions encourage beneficial insects and those deep taproots pull minerals up from the subsoil. I don’t know about the “catsears”!
Thanks for creating my new favorite blog. Lots of great info here about gardening in Puget Sound area, with very amusing writing. I’m going to use your peach tree list.
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Oh, those doggy tongues, those tongues!!!! So cute!!! I agree with your message about how one man’s weed is another’s flower. I hear so much about how dandelions are a superfood – I think the best way to rid the yard of them would be to try some cultivation. Great post about freezing berries by the way. Trying to chip a few cups of berries out of a huge frozen-solid bloc of them is not cool. Your way is great!
Dandelions not withstanding, I was moved to contemplate Isabel’s outlook. Sometimes you make me cry……… 🙂
Darien, thanks for the kind words and the tip on ground covers in the orchard, I’ll check it out.
Bonnie, Boz and Gracie send their love.
Joan, and you often times make me smile.