Dandelion Dreams
Yes, I know dandelions are “weeds”, but they are also lovely and remarkably resilient. And have a fascinating history. Not the least of which is how often people capture them in art. This photograph is one I took this past summer in the field by our home. The seed head was huge, about the size of a softball. And I loved the details of the unopened flowerhead and splashes of pink clover. Thankfully I captured the plant when I did as the utility company mowed the field down the next day. There are few plants that are as tenacious – or resilient – as the dandelion; they thrive in most any climate, will seed in rough terrain or disturbed areas, and offer a charming symbol in the process.
Dandelions originated in Eurasia, popping up on disturbed habitats after the last Ice Age. The name came from their French name: ‘don de leon’ (tooth of the lion) referring to the plant’s jagged leaves. They traveled to Europe from Asia, being used for medicinal reasons, treating liver and digestive issues predominately. The plant is also entirely edible. Interestingly, dandelions then traveled on the Mayflower, landing in North America along with the pilgrims. So the dandelion is an immigrant to our country, and its comfortable adaption to its new region is the predominate reason American gardeners use herbicides on lawns.
Children are endlessly attracted to dandelions, and the plant is a symbol of hope, healing and resilience. I suspect I am not the only one who spent childhood – and my children’s childhood – blowing on dandelion seeds to make a wish. Of course, that does a lovely job of spreading those pernicious seeds, resulting in yet more plants. But symbolism-wise, the idea is to spread hope and positivity. There was also the childhood game of holding a sunny yellow dandelion flower under your chin, similar to the buttercup. In my childhood, this would divine if you liked butter – and not a clue how or why this mattered, but the process was fun, especially as we didn’t have buttercups handy. In the 18th century, the stronger the yellow glow on the chin, the kinder and sweeter the child. The yellow flower as the sun, reflecting joy and happiness on a child is a sweet image, slightly more logical than concerns about butter consumption. Though in my case, I suspect I had a rather strong buttery yellow glow as a child.
My children happily collected bouquets of the flowers – not hard to do on our property with the open utility company fields east of us. I did discover an old superstition about those bouquets, however. It said that bringing dandelions into the house can cause you to wet your bed! The leaves are known to be a diuretic, thus their use for medicinal purposes for centuries. But, given that dandelions have more vitamin A than spinach, more vitamin C than tomatoes and have a great deal of iron, calcium and potassium, maybe harvesting those plants would be better than herbicides? As my gardening leaves a lot to be desired, I am thinking Spring salads of dandelion greens may be in the offing.