What have you been taught to dislike?
In Defense of Dandelions
Emerging with the smell of magnolias, spring rain, and soil, dandelions peek their yellow heads out of garden beds and lawns. Their flowers, it is said, are the color of sun. These suns transform into seed heads the shape of moons. They are night and day - cyclical and transformative.
My landlord emailed that tenants should weed them out. A gardening client gestured to his yard — “is there any spray you could use to kill these?” Some say that this year we’re having a dandelion apocalypse. The monsters are taking over. Load the spades! Landfill the spores! Show them who is in control!
My friend’s son picks a dandelion from the dirt. It has an especially fluffy moon, and its stem is cool in his small hands. He watches as its seeds — all two-hundred of them — get caught one by one in the wind. They swirl against robin’s blue sky before falling out of sight. Tender wishes. A child’s awe.
The name dandelion comes from the French dents-de-lion: lion’s teeth. Because the dandelion’s lushly green leaves are the jagged shape of a feline bite. And though this flower is more healer than predator, it does have its strength of a lion. It is a survivor.
I spent four hours this week plucking dandelion spores out of a client’s yard and garden then attempting to pull the plant’s unyielding roots out of soil. Years ago, gardeners did the opposite. They weeded the grasses out so the dandelions could better grow. Dandelions were cherished for their beauty and their medicinal power.
Every part of the dandelion is edible. Tonics made from the petals can help our livers remove toxins and the digestive systems activate. Dandelion leaves have long been used to treat vitamin-deficiency related ailments — sores, weakness, lethargy, dandruff. They are more dense in Vitamin A than spinach, in Vitamin C than tomatoes. The roots can be dried and ground, then used to make tea.
Not only do dandelions help heal and balance the human body, but also the land. They are a natural fertilizer in lawns and gardens. Their strong, stretching roots aerate the soil and reduce erosion. With deep taproots, they are able to distribute calcium to other plants. And! They provide spring’s first food to pollinators.
Dandelions are protectors, not pests. At a park beneath the Flatirons, they stretch out on a field like a blanket. Hello, Spring, they say. We are here to help you flourish.
Hope you are well, reader.
With love, until next time,
A
IG: aadami_writing