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BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone?
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Keith A of Hertford Date: 25 Apr 15 - 10:09 AM Well, its not rocket science. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 25 Apr 15 - 08:16 AM Well, I sowed wild rocket two years ago and, to my delight, it now springs up everywhere. I have a supply for twelve months of the year. We had two big handfuls of it last night with our spaghetti with prawns, chilli, garlic and lemon, roughly chopped and thrown in at the last minute. Sublime! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Apr 15 - 01:45 AM This time of year the dandelions in the yard are tender - and if you've ever eaten them, you know they are delicious. I should pick leaves from the basal rosettes and mix with the romaine lettuce in the fridge for salad this weekend. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: MGM·Lion Date: 24 Apr 15 - 11:26 PM One of the earliest childhood riddles I recall from my older sister was - Why did the bulrush? Because he saw the cowslip. ≈M≈ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 24 Apr 15 - 06:12 PM Keith, your field of primroses, cow slips, forget-me-nots, bluebells and such sounds absolutely delightful. Now I think I'll look up what exactly a clow slip is. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Don Firth Date: 24 Apr 15 - 04:05 PM Nature rarely makes mistakes in the aesthetics department. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: MGM·Lion Date: 24 Apr 15 - 08:22 AM My jungle of a garden is full of them. They make a fine show under the white blossom of the cherry tree. Why cut nature's bounty down? It looks beautiful just left to flourish. ≈M≈ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 23 Apr 15 - 07:40 PM Ye gods, Uncle DaveO, you could have been a little gentler. Take a drop of dandelion wine, mebbe... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome Date: 23 Apr 15 - 03:03 PM Dave Oesterreich - If I read all the threads on Mudcat I may end up as daft as you. So I don't. Fuck off. :-D |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 23 Apr 15 - 11:02 AM Well, today is St George's Day. Today is the day for gathering dandelions for wine-making, according to tradition. I was driving from Bath to Bristol on the A4 this morning and the dandelions on the verges were putting on a superb show in the sunshine. Scarcely a blade of green was to be seen piercing the golden carpet. Much better than those hosts of non-native cooking daffodils that have, thankfully, gone over for another year. In contrast the Cribbs Causeway car park is a sterile place, but the sun is beaming down, I have my sun hat and folding chair, there's a flask of tea in the boot and Mrs Steve is undergoing retail therapy in M&S and John Lewis. There's no God, obviously, but if there was he'd be in his heaven this afternoon all right. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 23 Apr 15 - 09:48 AM Dave the Gnome: You're a little late. A week, in fact. Date: 18 Apr 15 - 06:10 PM "Where have all the dandelions gone? Long time pi-issing.." And GUEST,DTM was late before you: Date: 19 Apr 15 - 06:57 AM Where have all the dandelions gone? Long time passing....... I suggest reading the whole thread before sticking in an obvious comment. Dave Oesterreich |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Jon Date: 23 Apr 15 - 08:59 AM I'd say the best sight in the field area at the moment is a bit further up from the patch we rent. This bit once was pigsties (we use another set as sheds) but is all overgrown. There's masses of blackthorn in blossom out there. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Keith A of Hertford Date: 23 Apr 15 - 08:42 AM Since my kids all grew up, I sowed my lawn with wild flowers and only mow in the Autumn. It looks lovely now with primroses, cow slips, forget-me-nots, bluebells and such, and the best is yet to come. Dandelions are too successful so I do reduce them by ripping out. Daisies and buttercups take their chance. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Jon Date: 23 Apr 15 - 08:26 AM Wev'e got some dandelions growing up the edge of the strip of grass we keep mown next to the veg plot in the field. They look nice there. Pip is quite fond of cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris). I think it gets to look a bit tatty but she always likes to let a patch grow in the field area. We may also have some wild poppies and foxgloves that have set themselves... I think you can sort of do a beautiy in the eye of the beholder with so called weeds. OK there are things we don't want at all (Eg. the giant hogweed mentioned above is pretty nasty) but there can also be things you find pleasing to look at. Even on the mown (so the heads do get chopped off from time to time) patch in the field, I prefer to see some clover, buttercups, daisies. Bumblebees seem to like some of it too. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome Date: 22 Apr 15 - 04:43 PM Considering their diuretic value should it be Where have all the dandelions gone Long time pissing... OK. Yes, I know. I'll leave. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Ed T Date: 22 Apr 15 - 11:23 AM Speaking about grass and weed: Willie-weed |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Jeri Date: 22 Apr 15 - 10:47 AM my grass is just starting to grow here, so I'll get back to you. I've heard everything's a couple weeks late this year. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Rumncoke Date: 22 Apr 15 - 07:37 AM I used to breed budgerigars lovebirds and cockatiels, and I fed them the seed heads of dandelions - they are a good source of something as my birds bred superbly well. Unfortunately my picking of seed heads resulted in the extinction of my dandelions, and only today, after many years, is there a dandelion in the garden. It is not the same as the ones I had, the flower is all one colour and the ones which grew naturally had a slightly paler yellow outer ring - and it is a more rambunctious strapping kind, mine were more delicately formed. If you want to get rid of them with no struggle, just pick all the flowers. I never use weedkiller or pesticides, nor fertiliser, I just compost and cut down, and compost again. These days as the weather is less varied I need to water more some years, and lift all the pots out of the mud in others. I mean less varied in the sense of getting a mixture of sun and showers throughout the year. Some years there is drought and some years there are floods, and some years there are both. I have one of those porous hoses and an elevated deck and I am thankful that I chose a house on a ridge and not on a floodplain. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 21 Apr 15 - 09:13 AM Thanks for the heads-up about the Giant Hogweed, SRS. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 20 Apr 15 - 08:01 PM You seemed to be implying that the composites and umbellifers are in the same family. Doubtless there are biochemical connections as exposed in that study, which I came across earlier when I was investigating what you posted, but "family", and the names Asteraceae and Apiaceae, have quite specific taxonomic meanings. The latest version of the molecular based APG classification system, APGIII (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III) does not place these two families close together. Traditionally, plant classification relies on the coming together of several aspects of the study of plant relationships, not the consideration of one aspect in isolation. No doubt DNA studies and our greater understanding of evolution will come more to the fore as time goes on. In the meantime, my carrots and dandelions shall remain distant relations only. The discussion of "wild carrot" and "Queen Anne's Lace", with its various confusions, confirms the view of some botanical pedants that only Latin names should be used. That would be a pity. For a start, it would rob me of the ability to show off. And I do like the folk names of our wild plants. Even science can be poetic occasionally. Incidentally, in quite a few rural areas of the UK cow parsley/Queen Anne's Lace is known as keck. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Don Firth Date: 20 Apr 15 - 06:11 PM ah…ah…ah…ah…CHOO!!!! (sniff.) 'scuse me. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Apr 15 - 05:23 PM Penny, I can probably download that for free from my university if you want to read it without the fee. My source was less robust than via Elsevier peer review journals. Look up the families at Wikipedia and you'll see some "unranked" statuses that indicate relationship without specifics. Hey, I was totally thrown for a loop when they tossed oaks out of the elm family. :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: MGM·Lion Date: 20 Apr 15 - 05:00 PM Queen Anne's Lace here is an alternative name for Cow Parsley. ≈M≈ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Penny S. Date: 20 Apr 15 - 04:53 PM There's this. Elsevier paywall page on terpenes in both. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 20 Apr 15 - 04:42 PM What is your source? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Apr 15 - 02:06 PM I thought it was also, but when I looked it up just now, umbels seem to have been reclassified and is now lumped within it. This was news to me. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 20 Apr 15 - 01:12 PM The aster family is a completely different one. Giant hogweed is a menace. Now that is a plant that will bring you up in a rash, especially if you handle it in sunshine. Another one that will do that is Primula obconica. I have a nice pot plant of it on the windowsill. The answer is to not handle it in sunshine, I find. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Apr 15 - 12:02 PM Queen Anne's lace is in the Umbelliferae family (now called Apiales/Apium) and is the group with celery, carrots, fennel, parsley, cilantro, dill, and more. Easy to not confuse with other aster family plants. And the one I would worry most about an invasive plant making it's way through New England - the Giant Hogweed. It's an ornamental that came to the US via the UK and some fool from there brought it from Asia as an ornamental, and it is your worst nightmare as far as a plant to tangle with in the garden or in the wild. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 20 Apr 15 - 11:17 AM The Queen Anne's Lace referred to in that link is not the plant most Brits call Queen Anne's Lace. The article refers to what we call wild carrot, Daucus carota. That's the one that cultivated carrots are derived from (Daucus carota ssp sativus). It's true that wild carrots can cause a form of contact dermatitis in some people. Best to wear rubber gloves if you have to weed it out. You would never have to do that here as it doesn't grow as a weed. It grows abundantly on the sea cliffs near my house and makes a very nice show in summer. Annoyingly, it harbours carrot root fly, which thinks nothing of invading garden carrot patches near the sea. The resemblance to hemlock referred to in the article is exaggerated. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 20 Apr 15 - 10:48 AM The subject of Queen Anne's lace has been dropped, but I wouldn't like anyone here to have the purple-black lesions on the arms which I got from pulling several dozen of the wet plants. So I am providing a quotation from this site: carrotmuseum.co.uk/wild.html "Queen Anne's Lace is also considered toxic. The definition of toxic includes causing harm, detrimental to health etc, but not necessarily poisonous. Therefore contact with the skin can be toxic. Overall, most people classify the wild carrot leaf as "mildly toxic". The leaves contain furocoumarins that may cause allergic contact dermatitis from the leaves, especially when wet." (They gradually went away after a doctor prescribed a strong cortisone-type ointment.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 20 Apr 15 - 05:25 AM Yellow composites can be a pain to sort out, though dandelions are usually readily identified by their hollow leafless stems that exude a milky juice and their yellow heads which lack disc florets (that little central pad of florets that you see in daisies, sunflowers and the like). The hundreds of microspecies (the upshot of their peculiar sex lives) is another matter, though only Taraxacum-obsessives usually bother to delve. I find the "hawkish complex" (all those hawkweeds, hawksbeards, hawkbits and catsears) far more perplexing. You need a memory like an elephant's to remember which is which. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome Date: 20 Apr 15 - 05:16 AM Yes indeed, Steve. Yet another tradition rendered insensible! Buttercups are used to see if you like butter. Hence the name :-) Dandelions are also 'wet the beds' so no self respecting kid in 1950's Salford would be seen waving one near the face! Interestingly enough Dandelions are a known diuretic so there was some sense in that as well :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,So! Date: 20 Apr 15 - 04:37 AM Really enjoyed that "Dandelions Are Dangerous" poem. Thanks for posting it, SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 Apr 15 - 11:03 PM Dandelions are in the vast group that we as naturalists used to refer to as DYCs - "damned yellow composites." Though now the family is called Asteraceae. :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 19 Apr 15 - 08:29 PM Well, we always tested ourselves to see if we liked butter with a buttercup held under the chin. Unsurprisingly, it was found that everyone liked butter. A dandelion "flower" is actually a tight inflorescence of many tiny, strap-shaped flowers, called ray florets. They are all a lovely lemony-yellow, though the outermost layer of florets are yellow on top and, usually, a shiny grey underneath. Every floret has tiny teeth at its tip. Each floret has the potential to produce a single, dry one-seeded fruit with a tuft of hairs (the pappus) atop a little stalk, the whole thing being capable of being wafted away, when ripe, on the slightest breeze. Not a miracle, but a glorious phenomenon of evolution. Dandelions also have fascinating sex lives, but that's for another time. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 Apr 15 - 07:33 PM I stumbled across this recently: Subject: RE: Mudcat Poetry Corner |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 19 Apr 15 - 06:45 PM Should have said that you can reverse the whole thing by swapping the two strips round in the liquids. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 19 Apr 15 - 06:14 PM Before you get rid of your dandelions, try this elegant, beautiful and simple experiment. Take two small glasses of water. Leave one as it is, but dissolve a tablespoon of salt in the other. Pick one dandelion flower head with at least two inches of stalk. Discard the flower head but keep the hollow stalk. Very carefully, cut a piece of stalk about two inches long. With a sharp knife, cut two strips along its length that are no more than about a millimetre wide but about two inches long. They mustn't be too wide, or else the experiment won't work very well. Before proceeding further, have a very close look at the strips to discern which side was the outside of the stem (usually darker in colour). Drop one strip into the pure water and one strip into the saltwater. Watch and wait for two or three minutes. Now normally I would ask you to tell me what you see, but in this instance I shall issue a spoiler alert right now.....then tell you what you might see. Both strips should curl up quite tightly. But take a closer look. The strip in salt water will have the outside bit of the stem on the outer side of the curve, whereas the strip in the pure water will have the outside bit of the stem on the inside of the curve. The inner cells of the stem have thin walls that allow water to diffuse through. The outer layer is impervious to water. In the strong salt solution the inner cells lose water via osmosis as water passes through the semi-permeable cell membrane into the solution. Therefore the cells on the inside collectively shrink, so the strip curls up with the inner cells on the inside of the curve. In the pure water, on the other hand, those inside cells take up water by osmosis and collectively swell up. Therefore the swollen cells cause the strip to curve with the impervious outer layer to the inside. Cheap, cheerful and with plenty of explanatory bang for its bucks. You can eat 'em, compost 'em, admire 'em, give your pollinators a boost with 'em and do amazing science with 'em. Yet some of you buggers want to get rid of 'em! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Musket Date: 19 Apr 15 - 04:46 PM And McDonald's isn't? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome Date: 19 Apr 15 - 03:04 PM I don't think it's allowed. Musket. Probably counts as biological warfare... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Musket Date: 19 Apr 15 - 01:48 PM I bought one of those Fiskar grabbers that you push down over the dandelion and lift it root and all. Got some bloody long roots, some of them! The lawn is much better since having a few hours playing with it last year. Give it a few more weeks and this year's crop will be pulled. Lawn looks far better than before and the hole it leaves is great for rain filling. If our American cousins want dandelions, I can always post them on rather than compost the buggers. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome Date: 19 Apr 15 - 11:51 AM Better than being a tide of bearings! :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 19 Apr 15 - 07:26 AM Your lawn will be full of dandelion seeds anyway, Dave, which the weedkiller won't touch, just biding their time. Sorry to be the bearer of tidings! :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome Date: 19 Apr 15 - 07:20 AM I did get the patches last year, Steve, but a keen gardener friend has recommended Verdone so I am going to give it a try. It says you only need to be dispose of the first cut and after that the clippings can be composted. Speaking of which - We have garden waste bins. Must find out what happens to that waste before I dump the clippings in! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 19 Apr 15 - 07:15 AM Ragwort is a valuable food plant for Burnet moth caterpillars. We shouldn't allow it to seed. It's poisonous to horses, even when dried or included in silage. Horses won't eat fresh ragwort, which has the unfortunate effect of giving it an advantage in pasture, but they can't detect it in hay or silage very well. Good pasture management is vital, but there's so much seed produced in uncultivated areas that it's a never-ending job. I have far more sympathy for dandelions. If you really can't bear dandelions in the lawn, you need a special two-pronged weeding tool to get the taproot out completely. The slightest scrap left in place will grow back in no time. If you use weedkiller you'll leave an ugly round patch where each dandelion was that will persist for months, and you won't be able to compost your grass clippings. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,DTM Date: 19 Apr 15 - 06:57 AM Where have all the dandelions gone? Long time passing....... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Thompson Date: 19 Apr 15 - 05:36 AM Dandelion roots are said to be delicious, with a sweet, nutty flavour that adds to a stir-fry; haven't tried them myself; must. The horror in Ireland is ragwort - cursed by all asthmatic and hay fever sufferers, as well as being poisonous to grazing animals. It's officially a notifiable weed with fines for allowing even one plant to grow on your land, but in recent years this has been neglected and now they're everywhere. I wonder if it's because farmers no longer dry hay but instead make silage or haylage; perhaps it's not as poisonous when fermented as when dried? My curse on you, Monsanto Death-bringer of the fields O sing it out bel canto… |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome Date: 19 Apr 15 - 05:05 AM I know what you mean, Steve, and I would love to have an area of meadow where I could grow a mix of grasses and wild flowers - especially if I could borrow a local sheep to mow it :-) Trouble is in a 1930's semi with a little garden I don't have that luxury. I have never grown a good lawn. Wherever we have lived before I did not have the option. The one out front here is tiny and, for once, I want to get it looking like a lawn! At present it is full of moss and weeds so this year I am going to see if I can get it right. May go back to seed next year but, this time, I am going to see what is possible. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 18 Apr 15 - 07:04 PM Don't worry about dandelions in your lawn. Your lawn grasses are very shallow-rooting, but dandelion roots go down a foot or more. They mine for nutrients where grasses can't go - and then bring them up to the top. They are as valuable as earthworms. Another fantastic addition to lawns is clover. The nodules on the roots of clover contain bacteria that can convert atmospheric nitrogen to nitrate, which is a superb fertiliser, and you're getting it for nothing. Also, I love daisies on my lawn, lovely starry things in a sea of boring green (and daisy leaves and flowers are very tasty and nutritious - make sure you keep your dog off the grass, that's all). If the sight of non-grasses in your precious lawn upsets you, my advice is to view your lawn only from a distance. You won't notice a thing. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Joe_F Date: 18 Apr 15 - 06:16 PM Just today I gave thanks for the first dandelions, marking another minute step in the slow progress of spring here in Malden, MA, USA. I have loved them ever since I was little, and I still have a 4-year-old's contempt for the grownups who consider them weeds. I tend to a Veblenesque explanation for that: they are cheap. If they were expensive, rich people would cultivate whole lawns of them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: MartinRyan Date: 18 Apr 15 - 06:10 PM "Where have all the dandelions gone? Long time pi-issing.." Regards |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome Date: 18 Apr 15 - 03:24 PM Don't get me wrong - I love dandelions. Lovely flower and the whole plant is useful. Just not on my lawn! :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 18 Apr 15 - 02:23 PM Lie down amongst them on a sunshiny day and just watch, close up, all the precious little pollinator bugs feasting. That's what I do. Mrs Steve thinks I'm mad. I may be nutty but I'm truly sane, to quote that greatest of all gardeners, Lawrence Hills. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome Date: 18 Apr 15 - 02:05 PM Most of them seem to be in my front lawn at the moment. They have not heard of Verdone yet... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 18 Apr 15 - 12:35 PM Wild carrot and Queen Anne's Lace are two separate plants in the UK, Daucus carota and Anthriscus sylvestris respectively. Whilst I wouldn't rush to eat either, they are both harmless to handle, wet or dry. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Steve Shaw Date: 18 Apr 15 - 12:29 PM It is not a criminal offence, nor any kind of offence, to pick dandelions in England. Why, I used to pick the flowers by the bucketload to make dandelion wine, and excellent it was too. It's important to shake the bugs out of them first. It's illegal to dig up a wild plant on private land without the owner's permission. Certain vulnerable species are protected by law, but dandelions are not among them. As for getting rid of them, dandelions are a valuable early source of nectar for pollinating insects. I don't mind the small inconvenience of uprooting and composting the few that get into my veg plot. Otherwise, I think we should let them be. They're very nice when they blossom en masse in spring, in my opinion. If you want to try eating them as a salad, blanch the young leaves by putting a flower pot over the plant for a week first. I must confess that I'd rather stick to my wild rocket. A weed is only a weed when it's in the wrong place. I don't regard roadside verges as wrong places. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 18 Apr 15 - 11:03 AM I live in America, and I try to grow a garden which looks nice, provides tomatoes, and supports butterflies and other nice bugs. I have no room for dandelions, a Eurasian weed. Contrary to popular belief, dandelions are easy to get rid of. Once you remove them, very few of their seeds drift in. One day, years ago, I removed all the dandelions, and I have hardly a one on my place today. When I see one, I dig it up. Before that, I tried tender young dandelion greens in salad. They tasted awful, just like the weeds they are. Ebbie, I feel sure your pancakes would taste the same. Truthseeker, the side yard next door to me is choked with dandelions. No way are they gone. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Truthseeker Date: 17 Apr 15 - 07:29 PM Please! Do you not live in England? Where to pick a dandelion is now a criminal offense!! Dandelions are healing and are a detoxifying agent.. It was free and profuse, here in US,they are gone! Just like grape seeds,melon seeds etc ,etc, Wake up! Grow your own food!! And you guys have alimentarious codex!!! GOD help us all.. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 28 Aug 13 - 10:44 PM Our bindweed is good every year. I pull them, and they come back. I'm thinking of simply assigning names to them (Emerald, Twister, Sneakey) and considering them pets. Somebody mentioned Queen Anne's Lace, or wild carrot. Did you know that if you handle that when it's wet, it can give you an ugly outbreak that resembles poison ivy? I learned that the hard way. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Spleen Cringe Date: 28 Aug 13 - 11:28 AM We had plenty of dandelions on the allotment, but perhaps less than previous years. The thing that has been too rampant to properly keep on top of this year has been the bindweed. Far worse than previous years - it's like Day of the Triffids in the fruit cage... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Janie Date: 27 Aug 13 - 10:14 PM Hawkweeds will keep blooming all summer long if mowed down before it goes to seed. May be that in different climes dandelions bloom thru summer, but generally blooms from late winter/early spring and finishes blooming by late spring or early summer (in more northern climes.) I have a yard full of different species of hawkweed, most of them broad leafed but a few with toothed leaves somewhat similar to dandelion. Their leaves are usually at least somewhat hairy, however, and not the same shade of green as dandelions. When talking about wild members of the parsley family, I think it is always an excellent idea to include Latin names. That is because some of them are very, very toxic, and many of them look similar enough that it takes a trained eye to be sure. (Poison and Water Hemlock as well as Fool's Parsley come to mind, all three very common where I live.) Referencing Jeri's post above Anthriscus sylvestris, which is locally called Cow Parsley) and Daucus carota, which is locally called either Queen Anne's Lace or Chigger Weed, are also, in some regions of the world where they grow called Wild Carrot. The first year roots of Daucus carota are somewhat sweet and carroty tasting. The first year roots of Anthriscus sylvestris are edible, non-toxic, and not obnoxious tasting, but not tasty. Probably nutritious. There are hundreds of species of dandelion that grow around the world. Dandelion greens are very high in vitamin A, pretty high in vitamin C, and also in calcium and iron. Also a good source for potassium and zinc and other trace minerals. There has been almost no research done on humans regarding the claims as a diuretic, but given it's long history across cultures as such, I think it likely research on humans would likely substantiate that it is diuretic. The roots are not tasty but are classically used in preparations for "spring tonics" that they are especially high in mineral nutrients. In most root crops, minerals concentrate more in the roots than in the leaves and flowers, and as rich as the leaves are nutritionally it is reasonable to suspect the roots are even more rich in minerals. There is research that indicates dandelion flowers are a good source for antioxidants. Don't know about the rest of the plant. But it ain't the tastiest plant on the planet. I like some very tender and early dandelion greens included in a salad, but they are a little bitter. Don't much care for them steamed or boiled by themselves but will add some of the early leaves to steam or saute with other more palatable greens. Tend to use them to "spice up" the pot or salad, in moderation. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 27 Aug 13 - 03:39 PM We have several Hawkweed types here in UK. One, Orange Hawkweed, is known as Fox-and-Cubs. But they're not dandelions. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Rumncoke Date: 27 Aug 13 - 12:12 PM I searched everywhere for dandelions today. Where there would have been dozens in years gone by there is but one - and that one is cowering in a corner, presumably for shelter against something. Nothing has been done to eradicate them - I always used to ensure that there were seeds left to start more plants when I was gathering the heads for the birds and I even blew the 'clocks' onto any open ground rather than leave it to chance. Maybe the increasing heat has done for them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Pete Jennings Date: 27 Aug 13 - 10:55 AM We had a shedload of dandelions here in Staffordshire, but that was back in May and they all went to seed in June. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnu Date: 26 Aug 13 - 06:58 PM Hawkweed. Note the barren yard adjacent. No bees at his flowers. I have at least 100 bees on my front and back lawn at any given time. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnomad Date: 26 Aug 13 - 06:31 PM OK, so to gnu, give the dandelions a go if you like, when available. The leaves are definitely decent for salads (if salad is your thing, it isn't everybody's) the flowers are safe but I dunno how they taste unless made into wine, which is alright. I'm sure there's good dandelion-flower wine to be had, but I've only encountered alright. With hawkweed you are on your own, we await your reports with interest. Leenia: that sounds right except the getting-rid-of-it bit. Lots of UK gardeners would give up their eye teeth as well as their first-born children, just to be rid of dandelions, maybe they need to move in near you. That gill over ground stuff looks pretty enough but sounds a real pain, luckily you seem to have got its measure. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Ebbie Date: 26 Aug 13 - 03:55 PM "Whack o' Hawkweed". I like it. Maybe for a band? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnu Date: 26 Aug 13 - 02:19 PM gnomad... I got em both. They come at different times of the summer. The pic is of dandelions gone to seed. I got a whack of hawkweed on the go right now. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 26 Aug 13 - 10:44 AM Flattish leaves with jagged edges (like lion's teeth) growing in the form of a rosette. Bright yellow flowers about 1.25 inches across and flat in profile. Forms a ball of seeds which blow away in the wind but don't actually go very far. Easily killed by digging blow the 'crown' and snapping the tap root. My property, which was neglected and weed-choked when we bought it, has almost no dandelions on it now. ============= Another invader is 'gill over the ground' or 'creeping charlie.' Here's its picture: http://www.wiseacre-gardens.com/plants/wildflower/gillover.html Creeping charlie smothers everything in its path, and pulling it up has no noticeable effect. On a mild day last February, I looked at my back yard and noticed that everything was brown and dormant except the creeping charlie. (This is the mark of an invader. It doesn't know what the heck time of year it is.) I mixed up some Round-up and sprayed the creeping charlie. That proved very effective. I have very little CC on my place now. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnomad Date: 26 Aug 13 - 09:20 AM If flower use in pancakes follows the practice when making dandelion wine you need to separate the flower petals before use. You don't want the green bracts (sometimes called sepals) which hold the petals together, as they are bitter and nasty. BTW I thought gnu's plants were hawkweed rather than dandelion? I have no info on their consumption if so. Similarly leenia's "weak plant that tastes like weeds" (I paraphrase) leads me to wonder whether we are all discussing the same stuff? Wikipedia gives a number of plants that might possibly be taken for dandelion. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: ranger1 Date: 26 Aug 13 - 07:38 AM gnu, the flowers are supposed to be delicious. Can't be any stranger than my mum snapping a few nasturtium flowers out of a former neighbor's hanging flower pot and munching on them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Dave the Gnome Date: 26 Aug 13 - 06:35 AM Not moved 'it' - Difficult to move a lawn :-) We have not long since moved iN! DtG |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Dave the Gnome Date: 26 Aug 13 - 06:04 AM We have a few o n our front lawn but I dunno if it is more or less than usual because we have only just moved it! Funny it has a different name in France as as Dandelion is from the French dent-de-lion, meaning "lion's tooth". It is also a very useful plant as all parts of it can be used - Leaves and buds in Salads, Heads brewed into wine and roots dried and ground to provide a base for Dandelion coffee. Not tried any myself but the daughters reckon they are all fine. Cheers DtG |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnu Date: 25 Aug 13 - 08:38 PM Ebbie... "2 c. dandelion flowers" Really? The flowers? Hmmm... you first. Lemmie know. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: JohnInKansas Date: 25 Aug 13 - 06:24 PM As a result of putting feed out for a couple of stray cats during the sub-zero weather when they showed up, we had massive invasions of starlings in the early spring. I don't think they ate all the dandelion seeds, but they dumped enough poop to just about kill the whole lawn. It is possible that the somewhat unusual weather had them looking for unusual places to invade, since they haven't been much of a problem for a couple of people with new-seeded lawns in recent past years. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Rumncoke Date: 25 Aug 13 - 05:17 PM I live within sight of the sea on the South coast of England There used to be lots of dandelions in my garden - I don't use any chemicals nor have I dug them up. I did feed the 'point of opening' seed heads to by budgerigars, but that seemed to have little effect on the numbers of plants and flowers - I used to disturb the open heads so the seeds were spread about when picking the ones for the birds. I don't know why, but these days the dandelion is an endangered species on my patch, if not extinct. The garden is certainly fertile, I have to fight back the brambles, but some usually survive to produce lots of berries, there are loads of apples again this year, there were quite a few gooseberries too. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Ebbie Date: 25 Aug 13 - 04:52 PM I have not tried these but should be colorful. Dandelion Blossom pancakes: 2 cups whole wheat flour 4 tsp. baking soda, pinch of salt, two eggs, 1 cup of water, 4 T. olive oil, 2 c. dandelion flowers Mix the dry ingredients together. Beat the eggs in, then add the liquid and oil. Beat the oil and stir in the flowers. Spoon batter into a hot pan and cook like regular pancakes. Serve with maple syrup, yogurt or jam. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnu Date: 25 Aug 13 - 03:54 PM Just wait. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: MikeL2 Date: 25 Aug 13 - 10:31 AM hi Wasn't that the name of a Pete Seeger Song ??? lol You may not have many over there but here in my garden it has been one of the worst years for them. Cutting the grass lower and more often helps keep them down. Lots of butter flies too. They have ruined my neighbour's cabbages. Cheers MikeL2 |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,John J...notaguest Date: 25 Aug 13 - 07:44 AM S'funny, it was only yesterday that I mentioned the lack of dandelions in our back lawn to the Mrs JJ. Normally the lawn is peppered with the damned things. We had a cold-ish and slightly longer last winter than usual here in NW England, but nothing else of note that might effect the dandelions. JJ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Janie Date: 25 Aug 13 - 07:38 AM In the USA Cow Parsley is usually the common name for the plant Anthriscus sylvestris. Queen Anne's Lace is the common name we use for Daucus carota. They are somewhat similar in appearance and I do see from a little research that Anthriscus sylvestris is also sometimes called Queen Anne's Lace. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: MMario Date: 25 Aug 13 - 06:56 AM JOhn-in-kansas; spray poison ivy with bleach. Kills it a treat. you may have to repeat a few times but it does kill it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: MGM·Lion Date: 25 Aug 13 - 04:50 AM The enuretic effect is a sort of folklore, Wiki says Dandelions Anecdotal reports and folk wisdom say children who handle dandelions can end up wetting the bed. Dandelions are reputed to be a potent diuretic. English folk names for the plant are "peebeds" and "pissabeds". In French dandelions are called pissenlit, which means "urinate in bed"; likewise "piscialletto", an Italian folkname, and "meacamas" in Spanish. ~M~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Stim Date: 25 Aug 13 - 04:24 AM "As a kid, on Friday nights I was sent across to the chippy for "one of each"" I can't think of what to to say about that... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Musket getting nostalgic Date: 25 Aug 13 - 03:55 AM I bought a can of dandelion and burdock pop the other day. That took me back. .. As a kid, on Friday nights I was sent across to the chippy for "one of each" (Worksop Speke for cod and chips with mushy peas) abd a bottle of dandelion and burdock. Don't ask me why, but once I read it above, I recalled that they were known as pissabed too. I suppose putting them in fizzy pop and giving them to children tends to.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: JohnInKansas Date: 24 Aug 13 - 07:22 PM Our little lot has a large area behind that's a "city property" and gets no maintenance at all, so preventing "invasives" from bursting forth every spring is nearly impossible. Persistent invasions of poison ivy and wild sumac are pretty uniform. I have resorted to chemical warfare to try to control the ivy, but have found the strongest chemicals easily available pretty much "ineffective." I'm considering perhaps napalm as a next step. Since the sumac is "woody" the ones that can't just be whacked off by the lawnmower are just "banded" and left to die, but it's rather time consuming. In previous years the dandelions have been plentiful, but there apparently has been a "change in management" of some adjacent rough ground and this year we saw almost none of them, with the new ornament being what my Ag agent says is "chickweed." It's also possible that the erratic drought-to-deluge weather has changed the dietary preferences of the local birds, since every new (previously unnoticed) growth seems to spring out of a clump of bird poop. The chickweed doesn't seem to be inclined to grow very tall, which would reduce mowing needs, so I may investigate encouraging it as it seems to be of some help in crowding out the lambs quarter and sunflowers, although it does nothing for the wild grapes (inedible - although the mature fruit might work as ammo for a BB gun) on the back fence and has no effect on the "Russian thistle." I'm considering starting a couple of blackberry bushes as a counterterrorist force agains the grapes, since experience in the Seattle area indicated blackberries can kill out almost anything else, but I'm not sure the climate is right for vigorous growth. (In Seattle the blackberries also seemed somehow symbiotic with large slugs, and I'm not sure they're really desirable.) A curious observation regarding the dandelions is that they never seem to appear on my "problem slope that can't be mowed." Maybe the 49% grade (27°) confuses them about "which way is up" and they just give up there(?). Or maybe it's a "drainage" thing, since the rain runs off without soaking in - although the grass seems to stay wet even longer there. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 24 Aug 13 - 03:55 PM Goodness leeneia, 'a weak plant'? Here, they have a long, tough taproot which breaks off when you try to extract it. Even a tiny bit left under the ground produces a new dandelion plant next season. One seed head produces dozens of airborne seeds which germinate rapidly. If left unmolested in a lawn they cover it and there's no more grass, just dandelions. I've had dandelion wine, which tasted like cats' wee (not that I make a habit of drinking cats' wee!) but the leaves are quite nice, a bit spicy and crunchy. Here in the East of UK we have quite bad droughts, but the old dandelions don't mind it a bit. I still like these jaunty yellow flowers though. They just have to be kept under control a little. I've always known the name Queen Anne's Lace for cow parsley. My fav. weed is the Giant Hogweed, which grows enormously tall. The juice is toxic and causes skin blistering, but the soft idiots nowadays, who issue 'warnings' about almost everything, haven't the sense to admire but not touch, and insist on destroying them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 24 Aug 13 - 03:40 PM Last summer was a terrible time for us in Missouri and in many other places. Hot, hot weather and very little rain. This year is much better, but we are feeling the after-effects by seeing very few butterflies. The night isn't as noisy with the sounds of insects, either. I hope that populations will rebuild. Insects lay millions of eggs, after all. I like to grow plants that support butterflies and other interesting insects. About dandelions - I'm not a picky gardener, but my place has almost no dandelions. They are a weak plant, and removing them really does work. Since they are an invasive Eurasian species for me, I have compunction about killing them. I once tried tender young dandelions greens in a salad. They tasted like weeds. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnu Date: 24 Aug 13 - 01:40 PM Thanks r1. m nailed it as Hawkweed. Hmmmm... want me ta send ya some, Bobert? Must make ya soar. "non-toxic way to get rid of them" I used to use an old triangularly shaped carving knife taped (duct tape, of course) to a broom handle and it worked a treat without the $ of one a them there step-on weed pullers. After my chemically inclined neighbours expressed their disdain (one said extremely sarcastically, "Nice crop of weeds you have there."), I like using fertilizer and, as I said, letting the pretty little bastards go to seed. So much so that I have to vacuum the screens in my windows and doors. Evil... ain't I? >8-D |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 24 Aug 13 - 01:32 PM Try some dandelion as an addition in a green salad. Or cook some along with spinach. A nice taste addition. I remember "wine" made from the blossoms. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: michaelr Date: 24 Aug 13 - 01:15 PM Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? The little bastards pop up in my front yard by the dozen. I don't use weedkiller, so if anyone knows of a non-toxic way to get rid of them, please tell me. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Jeri Date: 24 Aug 13 - 10:18 AM Queen Anne's Lace/Cow Parsley is also Wild Carrot. If you've ever pulled one up, you know why. Apparently the roots are edible, but they must be difficult to clean. I have yet to eat Dandelions, although I've had Dandelion wine. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 24 Aug 13 - 10:09 AM A host of names for dandelions in English, let alone other languages. Here's a list I found. (And the Botanist Latin name is Taraxacum, which I rather like the sound of. It sounds like an exotic destination in an adventure story.) Common names: Dandelion, Common Dandelion, Lion's Tooth, Blow Ball, Puffball, Cankerwort, Monk's Head, Priest's Crown, Fairy Clock, Peasant's Clock, Doonheadclock, Fortuneteller, Irish Daisy, Swine Snort, Pissabed. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: maeve Date: 24 Aug 13 - 08:08 AM The present yellow dandy-type plants are likely Hawkweed, gnu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieracium_caespitosum |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Ed T Date: 24 Aug 13 - 07:48 AM Are there not a few varieties of this plant, some that bloom earler and some later? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: ranger1 Date: 24 Aug 13 - 06:15 AM Dandelions are single-stemmed, gnu. Take me a picture and I can probably figure it out for you. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnu Date: 24 Aug 13 - 06:08 AM I like to let the first crop on my lawn go to seed. Meself and the bees think they are pretty. I am not sure what the present weeds, which resemble dandelions because they are yellow but single stemmed and the stem is tall and of "regular structure", are called but the bees reeeealy like em. I mow them down on Mum's lawn but wait until the grass on my lawn threatens to cause mower clog. Besides, my neighbour has a beautifully lanscaped property with an "immaculate" lawn. Each blade of grass is identical... and chemical. I think it's an ugly of the vilest kind. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: JennieG Date: 24 Aug 13 - 04:43 AM Into my front lawn....... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Backwoodsman Date: 24 Aug 13 - 03:53 AM Aaaaaaahhhhh! Apologies, Michael. In my dotage I'm finding lapses of concentration, attention and comprehension are becoming more and more frequent! Or, as Homer would put it - D'oh! :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnomad Date: 24 Aug 13 - 03:32 AM Not quite in anybody's language, to the French they are les pissenlits (apt, when considering their diuretic effects) I don't recall any shortage this year here in the UK, and they don't seem much affected by annual variations in climate so maybe chemicals are he culprit. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: MGM·Lion Date: 24 Aug 13 - 02:55 AM No, BWM. You misread both Jeri's post & mine replying to it. He was mentioning the plants that are about tho dandelions aren't just now, & I was pointing out another name for one of them. Of course dandelions are bloody dandelions in anybody's language! FYI, Qn·Anne's·Lace/Cowparsley are those tall spreading plants with the composite small white flowers at the end of a mass of tall stems. Wikipedia:-- Anthriscus sylvestris, known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, keck, or Queen Anne's lace ~M~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Musket curious Date: 24 Aug 13 - 02:30 AM Too many syllables. Stick with "flowers" easier to sing. Out of interest, I haven't noticed any loss this side of the pond if my paddocks have any relevance. The lawns have them too. Presumably, and I'm no botanist, different strains? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Backwoodsman Date: 24 Aug 13 - 02:30 AM Queen Anne's Lace? Cow-Parsley? WTF? Never heard them called either of those, by anyone in the UK. They might call them by those names dahn sarf in Southern-Softy-Land, but in the Backwoods of Lincolnshire, where they indeed proliferate, they're Dandelions plain and simple! :-) :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: MGM·Lion Date: 24 Aug 13 - 01:32 AM BTW, isn't Queen Anne's Lace a much nicer name than Cow-Parsley, which that plant is usually called over here in UK? ~M~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: gnu Date: 23 Aug 13 - 11:50 PM Mr Monsanto had nothing to do with me Dandies. Mr Monsanto: May you rot in Hell. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST Date: 23 Aug 13 - 11:11 PM Thank you, Mr Monsanto. May you rot in Hell. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: ranger1 Date: 23 Aug 13 - 11:08 PM Plenty of dandelions here in mid-coast Maine earlier in the season. And they were part of the colonial herb gardens and not ornamentals. Every part of the plant can be used. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Jeri Date: 23 Aug 13 - 10:58 PM I had a blanket of yellow in the... what was it, early June? Then it was a pile of poofy white. The milk weed was done blooming in early July, I think. Now it's goldenrod, Joe Pye, orange jewel weed, Queen Anne's lace and something that might be angelica out back. I saw a few monarchs earlier this year, but I haven't seen many of ANY butterflies. I have such a huge crop of milkweed this year, I would have expected a load of monarchs. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST Date: 23 Aug 13 - 10:41 PM Is anyone else missing the monarch butterfly this year? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Ebbie Date: 23 Aug 13 - 10:25 PM As Bill D said, this is a bit past their time. Earlier- maybe until a month or so ago - we had tons of them in southeastern Alaska (I like them) but they're not here now. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: Bill D Date: 23 Aug 13 - 09:47 PM Isn't this past their normal blooming time? I usually have plenty early ... can't remember how many I saw earlier. (Maybe the huge increase in climbing vines has robbed them of CO2) |
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Subject: BS: Where Have All the Dandelions Gone? From: GUEST,Gern Date: 23 Aug 13 - 09:19 PM Not to interrupt more pressing matters, but has anyone in the eastern US seen these former annoyances lately? Looking out my front window in Vermont, the dandelions ordinarily outnumber the grass. Not this year. Almost none have blossomed. Conspicuous in their absence here in New England. Any other gardeners noticing this trend. Is it cyclical or is it suspicious? Brought over by the British as ornamental flowers, they spread into a continental menace. Are they going the way of the polar bear? Will they take the thistle with them? |
