Dandelion Dreams

Walking around in my yard, I’m noticing the second round of dandelions taking shape. Not much rain lately, so my yard probably isn’t in the best health, or maybe it is and just forgot what that all means.

I’m of that age when each Spring, as a kid, I looked forward to the yard being covered in yellow, some bunches and pockets of yellow, and then splashes of yellow here and there. It meant Spring had arrived and Summer was fast on its heels. I don’t remember people making such a fuss over dandelions. I don’t even remember calling them weeds. They were springtime flowers that brought smiles, joy, and even playtime. I’d collect a dandelion bouquet and bring it to my Godmother or my mom as a gift, collected with love. My friends and I would grab a flower and pop off the top while stating a silly phrase. I remember my grandmother, visiting from Mexico, snapping the stems and rubbing them on her underarms. (That one baffled me for years.) And picking a stem of dandelion seeds -perfectly round-, we would close our eyes, make a wish, and blow them away. Dandelions are flowers, beautiful and welcome.

Over time, as I grew older and perhaps people became vain, my beloved childhood flower began to be viewed differently. It was a combination of marketing and people talking about dandelions in a negative light. And what felt like an overnight change, the pretty little yellow flower became a weed. People around me no longer welcomed these joyful spots in the yard. Marketing by companies portrayed dandelions as a menace to a pristine lawn. The companies that claimed dandelions are bad created a chemical to eliminate them. The messaging is to “buy this product and you can get rid of them”. Even the adults around me gave them a bad rap – they became a weed, annoying, and messed up the pretty lawn. Influenced by the words spoken around me, I too began to believe they were bad. They were weeds. And weeds should be rid of. 

It wasn’t until years later, and educating myself on dandelions, that I turned my thoughts back toward childlike days. Maybe they got it wrong, and the pretty little flowers label was correct. 

This time, I looked at them holistically. Dandelions are not only pretty little flowers, splashes of color from Mother Earth, they are food, they are medicine, they are a gift. Dandelions are food to insects, to bees, to humans. Dandelions are a medicinal plant that has been used for centuries by many cultures – whole, in teas, and as tinctures. And I learned dandelion stems are alkaline and their milky sap can combat germs (something my grandma knew). Dandelions are beautiful and fragrant. Dandelions are essential. My yard may not be pristine, but it is colorful, lovely, filled with insects, and even my granddog loves to smell the dandelions. I harvested some this Spring and made tea. And since I stopped treating dandelions like weeds, my yard is filled with fireflies and bees.

Dandelions are a gift from Mother Earth. Dandelions have a purpose. I choose to think for myself, educate myself, put Mother Earth first, and welcome the dandelions into my world.