Dandelion, a weed? Really? I know it seems to be a pesty little thing in the spring when we are trying to create that beautiful lawn, but come on, aren't they really pretty? So cheery with it's yellow flowers, a sure sign that sping and summer are here. I love to see the robins with their red breasts hopping in the green grass next to the yellow petals.
The dandelion "weed", or herb, actually has quite a history and is also useful in many ways. The name comes from the early French dent de leon which means "lion's tooth" probably because of the jagged edge of the leaf. The flowers are used to make wine and the plant itself can be used to create a wonderful magenta dye. When made into a tea or infusion, it becomes a diuretic as is noted by it's common French name pisenlit. Hmmm, that resembles an English word associated with diuretics which I won't use here!
Do little girls think of dandelions as weeds when they use them to tell if they are loved? When I was little, we held the flower under our chin in the sunlight. If it cast a yellow color, then it was said we liked boys. Oh my, how embarrassing!! Another tale is if a girl wants to know if the one she loves, returns the love, she blows on the dandelion puff three times. If any seeds stalks remain, then surely, he does love her.
The dandelion is not thought of as a weed in a small town near my home. Each year for the past 21 years, they hold a dandelion festival. No one would dare to cut their grass and destroy those pretty flowers. The idea, instead, is to see who can grow the most and the biggest. If you don't believe me, check out this article from a few years ago in the Holland Sentinel.
Recipes for dandelion soup and a variety of salads abound and are entered for judging. The roots can be roasted as a vegetable or ground to make a type of coffee. The greens can be cooked like spinach and are a great source of iron, calcium, and vitamin A. Look for the bright green, crisp, leaves in the early spring; they're best if you can get them before they flower. To this day German children are fed a healthy dose of dandelion greens every spring. After the long winter without much sunshine, the vitamins and minerals are just what the doctor orders.
If you decide to use your dandelions for cooking or for medicinal purposes make sure you don't harvest any that have been sprayed with an herbicide. Wash thoroughly and use immediately or keep in a sealed baggie and refrigerate up to 5 days.
Now, after this, do you still think the dandelion is a weed? Next time think twice before you mow the poor thing down!
No garden is without weeds. Thomas Fuller
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