A repeat of this post from my old Blogspot third world county blog (it’s been imported here as well… somewhere *heh*) is long overdue, IMO.
“Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
Weeds are mostly in the eye (and heart) of the beholder. Let me submit for your consideration the lowly dandelion. Was there ever a more beautiful yellow, a more deliciously luscious green? What a feast for the eyes! And yet, our culture considers the dandelion to be a pest plant; not merely useless, but something to be eradicated. *sigh* Useless? Every part (excepting the seed puffball) of the dandelion is edible. The greens cleaned and steamed or boiled are not only tasty but highly nutritious. The root, after cleaning, peeling and then blanching, boiling or roasting is also highly nutritious and useful in many ways. And even the yellow bloom is nutritious and a treat for both the eye and the tastebuds in salads.
And what can I say of dandelion wine? 🙂
And, as much as our society spends to eradicate this nutritious food and lovely flowering plant, it thrives in spite of all the poisons thown its way. And have you ever attempted to pull a dandelion to get rid of the “weed”? Unless you get every last piece of the root, it’s more than likely to simply grow back. Lilies of the field? Nah.
“Consider the dandelions how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
No matter how our society’s warped values may deem the dandelion to be an obnoxious weed, children who are as yet unpolluted by the depraved value system that would deem such a radiently bold and beautiful flower a weed, bring their mothers glad bouquets of dandelions every spring.
Well, I certainly have a new appreciation for the dandelion. 🙂
*heh*, DL. I have a longer treatment of dandelions wherein I draw out the characteristics of the dandelion as a parable of the Christian life. It’s, strangely, not at all strained… 😉
Well, I can tell you. They don’t thrive despite all the poisons throw their way in MY yard.
Yes, pretty to look at, but unlike actual flowers they don’t stay where you plant them.
Woody, That’s the way with wildflowers, you know. Even flowers that folks normally propagate by bulbs can sometimes “wander”. I have some volunteer daffodils that have sprung up in inconvenient places far removed from one another. Fortunately, they beat the other yard plants (the clover and grass I don’t bother to kill out–yeh, I view grass as a useless weed) out in the Spring so I can move ’em and avoid mowing over them later. Then there’re the grape hyacinth plants that suddenly began appearing in my front yard this year… after I’d planted some bulbs my Wonder Woman brought home one day. The bulbs she brought home haven’t done nearly as well as the volunteers…
Yep. It is possible to very nearly eradicate dandelions. But I view folks who do so with some suspiscion that they’ve been unconsciously subverted by our sick society. 🙂
Dandelions are from outerspace. Stem is very vein-ish and has fluid in it. They grow back overnight if you cut them down. I enjoy exterminating them David.
You’re either with us Earthlings, or your with THEM.
You’re a sick, sick man, Woody. 🙂
Further thoughts on dandelions… Some botanists distinguish as many as 230 different species of dandelions. All over the world, dandelions are appreciated to one degree or another–one species of dandelion, looking remarkably like the common varieties we find here in the US is even actively cultivated for latex (from the white, milky sap) production. The dandelion wasn’t in the Americas until it was deliberately imported from Europe as a “feedstock” for honeybees. But now, in a society that has been brainwashed into thinking of dull, boring monochromatic lawns as being somehow attractive, the dandelion is abhorred by the brainwashed suburbian masses. Sad, really, as its use as a foodstuff and medicinal plant has a long and valued history elsewhere.