With apologies to those who strive to maintain a perfectly monochromatic lawn, it is now time for my annual Singing-The-Praises-Of-Dandelions.
The last few days here in St. John's have not only been sunny and warm; they've also been spectacular days for dandelion-watching. Well, OK, so they're not much fun to watch, exactly- they don't so a whole lot. But it's been a great time to be out for a walk or in the car, checking out lawns and fields. Almost every grassy place is polka-dotted in cheerful yellow these days, and I LOVE IT. It's that time when the dandelions are open, but not many have their seed-hats on- it's just green and yellow wherever you look.
It seems so strange to me that people are so desperate to kill them. We bring in exotic plant species to put in our gardens, nurture them, fertilize them, water them, and pray we don't get a late frost that will kill them off. Meanwhile, the hardy dandelion is happy to thrive anywhere and everywhere, sprinkling pretty blooms all over our cities and countrysides- and we call them "weeds". They're hardy buggers, too. Try as some might to get rid of them, they never fail to reappear, flipping their middle leaves at those who would have them disappear. Pick 'em, dig 'em up, douse tham with toxic chemicals, they'll be back. It's downright inspirational, people!
I don't have a problem with green, smooth lawns. I find them boring, but it's a personal preference. We have a back yard (well, front yard to us, really) that's a wild mix of at least four species of grass, some kind of ground cover that looks a lot like parsley, trailing vines that have escaped from some former resident's attempt at maintaining a garden, and the fast-growing baboo (see pictures in the previous entry). And now, dandelions. Every time I go outside with Simon we discover something new; this week I showed him some forget-me-nots and some tiny while flowers- I have no idea what they're called, but they were pretty.
Nope, no problem with manicured lawns... as long as you're not one of the many herbicidal maniacs* out there poisoning the water and the neighbour's dog with the aforementioned toxins. But really, go ahead and dig up the dandelions, cut their heads off while you mow the lawn... they'll be back. You just can't keep a good weed down.
*Yes, I've been waiting almost a year to use that phrase. Thanks for humoring me.
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