Monday, May 23, 2005

Plea for the Flowers I lay on my back on a grass-blanketed hillside yesterday, sun on my face. If I rotated my head one way, I saw brilliant yellow crowns rising above the green, shooting their delicate tendrils up towards the sun they matched so well. If I rotated my head the other way, I saw the same view. The artistic perfection of these flowers brought me to tears. How did people develop such a vendetta against the dandelions? They are so lovely. The brilliance of their color on a sunny day is unmatched by any of the flowers planted in my garden. Well, possibly matched by the roses. Dandelions, however, are completely edible from root to flower tip. Their leaves and roots are medicinal. The blossoms are absolutely crucial to the survival of bees and butterflies, which are responsible for pollinating everything. I put them in salads. Our bunnies eat the whole plant. When I was a child, my friends and I used to make a wish and blow on the white lacy globe of a dandelion gone to seed. The "fairies" from the flower would float away on the breeze and make our wishes come true. I don't see children playing that game any more. Their parents have usually eradicated all the dandelions, or else the lawn is poisoned with weedkiller and the children are discouraged from handling the flowers. Somehow, at least in this country, people have decided it is a worthless plant to be destroyed at all costs. The costs of destroying dandelions include poisoning the lawn that our kids and dogs play on... poisoning the lawn we walk barefoot on... putting poison down, which then is washed into the water table and into the water we drink... destroying a plant that could be nourishing us abundantly with its fresh leaves, then going to the store to buy greens for the salad and maybe buying some digestive medicines too. Dandelion leaves help the digestion! I have an idea. If people truly need a uniformly green lawn with no bothersome nutritious yellow flowers in it, how about if they pull the dandelions instead of poisoning them. They could take these dandelions to the local soup kitchens to be added to the daily soup, salads or cassoroles. Fresh-picked greens are bursting with nutrients; what a waste to destroy them! Another idea: Someone in each city should educate the homeless and impoverished people about edible wild plants in their vicinity. This would give people a source of free food, while providing a free weeding service. Money would be saved, that otherwise would have gone to poisoning the public parks to keep weed growth down. This is my annual plea to save the dandelion. It contains only a fraction of the information I could be giving out about the beneficial uses of this beautiful, cheerful yellow plant. If you know of anyone who might benefit from reading this plea, I hope you will pass this article along. The bees and butterflies will thank you. copyright 2005 bonnie willow 3:15:12 PM    comment []

© Copyright 2005 bonnie willow. Last update: 6/6/2005; 11:57:51 AM.