Dandelion Whine

After months of black and white in the landscape, I am thrilled that the grass is green, the trees are leafing out and the dandelions are in bloom.  Yes, that's right, I'm happy that the dandelions are in bloom.  As a child growing up in the country, we enjoyed the dandelions.  Our yard was huge, as yards tend to be in the country, so we never, ever thought about raking leaves, fertilizing the lawn or spraying weed killer on the dandelions.  They were simply part of spring and summer and they looked happy, with their bright yellow faces.  One recent Sunday afternoon, while my husband Larry and I were out for a drive, we passed by a country house with a big yard absolutely filled with dandelions in bloom.  Larry commented that the sight was spectacular.  The artist in him appreciated the vibrancy of the bright yellow against the bright green grass.  I rarely can make myself chop off a dandelion.  And if I feel moved to remove one, I do so without toxic chemicals.  I remove weeds with a spray bottle filled with white vinegar.  But, after seeing what looked like a painting awash in vivid yellow against a green field on that lovely Sunday afternoon drive, I'll hesitate to whine about the dandelions or make any attempt to remove them, for they are a beautiful sign that we have survived yet another Wisconsin winter and spring is finally here.

Just Dandy

I love dandelions.  I was thrilled to see them blooming already in March this year.  They have such happy, little yellow faces and they bloom from spring all the way until fall.  It makes me sad to think that these perennials have been given the maligned distinction of weeds.  When did we decide that dandelions were no longer flowers?  Why did we determine that these pops of color were no longer welcome in the expanse of our lawns?  In our quest for that elusive and endless green carpet, we've lost sight of the beauty of dandelions.  As a little girl growing up in the country, we weren't concerned about weeds in our big yard.  Consequently, I had a lot of opportunity to pick dandelions to make a bouquet for our home.  Fortunately, Mom never told me that dandelions were undesirables.  Instead, we celebrated their beauty and when their blossoms turned to cottony seed heads, we blew their seeds to the wind, only to bring about even more dandelions.  We humans eat dandelion greens and drink dandelion wine.  Let's celebrate the yellow sunshine of blooming dandelions in the grass while we're at it.