Poor Dandelions.
called:
weeds

they are:
eliminated
eradicated
excavated
mowed down
pulled up
poisoned
hated
unloved
unwanted

Now really, if you had never seen one before and your mind was not prejudiced against them, would you think them ugly? Unlovely? Just look at thier sunny yellow-ray faces! I picked this little bouquet and brought them inside.

Why is it that people feel the need to have huge expanses of green grass with nary a spot of yellow? Who started all this “weed” business anyway? Maybe it was the Round-Up people, or some other pesticide company in need of customers. It’s a conspiracy, I tell you. Dandelions have gotten a bum rap. They have medicinal value, plus many people treasure dandelion greens as a culinary feast. I clearly remember when we lived in France, people would go around with baskets collecting the tender, early leaves to eat.

Now, I don’t mind them in my lawn at all, but I do tend to keep them out of my flower beds.  [Ahem ... double standard?]

I found this poem in a Google search, and really liked it. So, here it is:

Ode To The Dandelions
(or Why I Shouldn’t Cut The Grass)
by Nancy Ness

The sun shines high: the rain’s gone by.
It’s Dandelion Day.
From fertile spawn my plush green lawn
Is mottled yellow spray.

The neighbors’ round, all cutting down
Their blades and flowers gay -
Now green they’ve got, a common lot,
While mine’s in vast array.

Why should I mow these lovelies low,
Defying Sunshine’s ray?
To bring them down the sun might frown,
And turn blue sky to gray.

I’ll let their seeds fallow new weeds
And mow another day.
Resplay they should, the neighborhood.
The Dandelions stay.

So, with deep regret, I must admit that our lawns are sadly and badly in need of mowing for the first time this year, which means the dandelions must go. At least for now.