There is Royalty in Your Yard

The dandelion is so named because its flowers were thought to resemble the teeth of a lion. Like the King of the Jungle, the dandelion should be considered royalty due to its many amazing attributes. Rather than lionizing it for those wonderful traits, somehow this amazing plant gets demonized by lawn care chemical companies in their sadly successful quest to sell America on the idea of a hyper-fertilized, mono-cropped, and often toxic sward of green lawn. All those chemicals not only kill the gorgeous dandelions, they poison the groundwater, run off in storms thus ending up in local waterways and possibly the drinking water, and are potentially poisoning people in their own back yards. Perhaps gaining some knowledge about the wonders of the dandelion will change the hearts and habits of those who read this.

As a permaculture designer, I strive to create design elements that stack functions so that as many elements as possible perform multiple “tasks” or provide multiple yields. This maxim to stack functions is perfectly embodied by the aforementioned dandelions. These yellow beauties are tap-rooted meaning that they send down a long thick root, deep into the soil. The tap root helps to break up compacted soil as it grows downward which in turn helps to oxygenate the soil. Where there is oxygen, there is life and more life in the soil is always a good thing. The tap root also draws up mineral nutrients from deep down bringing them closer to the surface where they can utilized by other plants in the vicinity. For this reason they are known as dynamic accumulators. And finally, the root can be made into a medicinal beverage which acts as a diuretic to flush toxins out of the body. That’s three functions and I have only touched on the root!

The entire plant is more than just edible, it’s one of the most nutritious things one could hope to eat due to all those nutrients brought up from the soil below. The greens are delicious both raw (I like mine mixed in with other salad greens) and cooked. Because they are bitter many people like to steam or sauté them. In Pennsylvania, it is common to cook them with bacon fat drizzled over the top, which is of course delicious. The flowers too, can be eaten raw, though the tastiest way I have eaten them was batter fried as flower fritters. YUM! Eaten raw, they have a slight sweetness which is pleasantly floral. The human body needs a lot of different plant based foods to be healthy. Incorporating dandelion greens into the diet is a great way to diversify one’s food intake and if one is smart, they can be harvested for free without a trip to the store!

The multi-functionality of the dandelion continues to march even after all of the above attributes have been put forth. We need pollinators in order to survive. Bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, and even some flies pollinate different flowers. With all those wonderful bugs needing something to pollinate it behooves us to have a veritable smorgasbord of flowering plants on offer. Once again the bright yellow, sweetly scented dandelion steps up for duty. Watch a yard full of dandelions in bloom and you will see the action happening as bees buzz merrily around collecting the pollen and flying away to their respective hives. It is a good idea to be thankful for both the pollinators and the flowers they fly to including the powerful dandelions.
Aesthetic beauty is certainly considered a yield gained in a permaculture design and once again dandelions are there to provide it with their bright yellow flowers. They are more than just visually appealing. I love to pick them and take a long, slow sniff of the fragrance which to me smells heavenly. One simply cannot put a price on something so powerful and thankfully it is free for the taking if we allow them to grow. And finally, what could be more beautiful than a warm spring or summer evening in the garden or on a small patch of lawn with a child who with joyous wonder blows the seeds of a dandelion into the air and watches as they float on the currents of the breeze to start life anew for more amazing dandelions. Does life get better than that?

Let me summarize the wonders of the dandelion thusly. They are enormously useful for a variety of reasons including soil health, personal health, pollinator health, and are beautiful to boot. With these all of these traits in mind, it seems criminal, insane, or both to poison such a wonderfully useful plant. Would you like to save some money? Let the dandelions grow. Would you like to have clean water to drink? Let the dandelions grow. Would you like to take care of your body temple? Let the dandelions grow. Would you like to foster bio-diversity? Let the dandelions grow. Would you like to attract beneficial pollinators to your garden? Let the dandelions grow. Would you like to create moments of magic with your family? Let the dandelions grow. Would you like to leave the world a better place than you found it? Let the dandelions grow. Let them grow, let them grow, let them grow!