OMGosh,
Loved reading this this morning,ha ha
A dandelion IS a flower, and you can also eat it.
If you want more seeds, just send me an e mail, I have tons ofem.ha ha
cAROL

IÂve got a story for you. I grew up in New Rochelle. Clearly not NYC but definitely not the country! (We can fight about that one later ;-)) Now I live in Ulster County. There are farms and livestock and dear and bear... Oh, my.

Anyway, the first year I started seeds I did it in my classroom. I had my little flats; I put two or three seeds in each little cell. Things were going great. Being that I had never started a seed before in my life I had no idea what anything should look like. About 3 days after sowing  I had sweet peas! I did a little dance and invited in my colleges to seeÂ

With crinkled noses they said, "Those arenÂt sweet peas."
I said, "Of course they are. I sowed sweet peas in those cells."
One woman (who owns a veggie farm) said, "let em go a little bit. I think they are marigolds."

I tenderly, lovingly cared for them convinced they were sweet peas and simple a variety no one was familiar with. They were 6 inches tall about 7 days after germination! I thought I was the BEST gardener ever!

Then I was informed the sproutlings I was so tenderly caring for were marijuana, commando planted by some of my students when I wasnÂt in the room.

I no longer start seedlings in my classroom.

I meant - deer and colleague  is there a way to edit my own post?

OCD - Lisa

OMG, Lisa, that is TOO funny!

Some years ago, there were folks across the way who has this healthy-looking plant growing on a windowsill above a back courtyard. I wondered why they would put this big pot on that teeny sill - weren't they afraid it would fall? And why do it in the back, when the front windows would get much more sun?

DUH! A friend finally informed me that it was a marijuana plant - what did I know? A new take on "growing the groceries", I guess!

cAROL, I think if the seeds from that one dandelion blow around, I'll have enough of them growing, thank you very much!

LOL!

PV

PV, you've been blessed with the perfect "undamaged by strolling dogs" spring tonic salad, my late father's favorite spring treat (which he insisted be accompanied by a tall dark beer), and I learned from him to appreciate its merits. It is thought to be a liver cleanser, a good thing to eat after all the heavy winter foods.

I used to take my late ex-MIL to the local chicken farms where there were fields full of the stuff. She would fill up a bushel basket to take home. Many an impoverished Italian child would find a sandwich of dandelion and egg omelet in his/her school lunch bag.

To this day I enjoy an early spring salad plucked from the grass, and I also dry some to use as tea. Somehow it makes me feel really connected to the good earth and the only thing I love more is wild asparagus!

Mary

Too funny, magpie. I imagine the students got quite a laugh out of it.

Great reading for a Sunday smile!!

My perception of Dandelions has been changing since I went to the Butterfly Forum and saw a photo posted by a fellow member.
I'll post a link and make you think twice about them too!!! :O)

Here is a link that might be useful: Clearwing on Dandelion.

I agree magpie, that was hilarious.
Tammy

such a funny story! I am going back to school to be a teacher and will remember that story. I thought about growing a garden with the kids too!

My neighbors like to grow dandelions and then I get some too. nice of them to share huh? I don't care about them getting in the lawn but when they invade the flower beds I get MAD! I have a bunch this year. time to get my hands dirty!!

Karen

we just love to see anything green come up in a pot, don't we?

when my sister and I were kids, we loved to blow the seed heads and watch them fly everywhere- boy, if we only knew! LOL

seems we have even more than usual this spring-maybe because we had extra warm weather for a couple of weeks-
the redbud and dogwood trees bloomed at the same time (usually the redbud is first) and the maple seeds (aka helicopters) are flying like snow around here!

have to take the good with the bad- gardener's first lesson :))

have fun with your 'early crop' of flowers..
Linda

Oh my gosh, this thread is hysterical! :D

I am wondering how one would prepare dandelions to eat. ? Raw? Steamed? Is there a particular time to harvest them? I'd like to try it. Unfortunately, we have more than enough to eat a few.

Linda from Kentucky! So good to "see" you!

Mary, the courtyard gardens outside my building have quite a few of the dandies, I've noticed lately. I can't really say that they've been "undamaged by strolling dogs", so I don't think I'll be trying them in a salad. I have had dandelion tea - not bad.

Connie, try the tea - it's a good herbal detoxifier, and helps reduce water retention.

such a funny story! I am going back to school to be a teacher and will remember that story. I thought about growing a garden with the kids too!

My neighbors like to grow dandelions and then I get some too. nice of them to share huh? I don't care about them getting in the lawn but when they invade the flower beds I get MAD! I have a bunch this year. time to get my hands dirty!!

Karen

I'm sorry, PV. I thought it was growing in your balcony garden. I did some yard work today and I noticed a couple of really nice looking plants that haven't bloomed yet, they're the best most tender ones to eat so I'm going out after dinner to harvest them for a salad for myself. If I wanted to continue the family tradition I suppose I could open up one of the Yinglings I keep on hand for fried fish batter! Dad would be so proud of me LOL.

Mary

No sorry, Mary - the one I was talking about originally is growing on my terrace. But there are lots more in the courtyard gardens .....

What's a Yingling?

PV

It's a dark beer that actually is spelled Yueng....
I used its nickname.
Silly me.

Mary

hi every one! I wanted to share a cammondo story...
A few years ago I looked out in time to see my son (16-ish) walking towards the field behind our house w/ h2o in a milk jug. I thought Hmmm.. so i went to investigate.. he was trying his own sowing in MY jugs. Well he got sprouts! I waited patiently and swapped his seedlings out for some of my tom. seedlings. I watched on and off for a few weeks as he tended "his" plants! Eventually I saw him cart a jug out of here. I tell u I laughed and laughed!!

I planted his plant in my garden and would'nt u know it that thing took off!! what a gorgeous plant. No one noticed it but my eyes zeroed in on it every time I walked into that garden. One day I came home and my Mom was showing off my garden to some off her red hat friends. I pulled it that afternoon!!