In Praise of the Dandelion

As children, many of us liked nothing better than having a nap on a bank of grass, surrounded by dandelions, daisies, buttercups, butterflies and bees. That was back in the day when your home was less of a showcase than a place to be enjoyed, with picnics on the grass in the summer and with the backyard frozen over to become a skating rink in the winter.

In the 16^th century, lawns were first cultivated around castles in France and England, a status symbol for the very rich. In England, in the 17^th century, wealthy landowners proudly maintained closely shorn grass, though many of them used sheep rather than human labour to keep the grass short. In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the great houses of Britain maintained large well-manicured lawns, usually with the help of hired labour. By the middle of the 20^th century grass lawns became the standard for suburban homes. Since that time, for many people, pride of ownership has required that a lawn be green, weed-free, and manicured. As a result, in North America, grass lawns are major consumers of water, pesticides, and a good deal of weekend labour by the homeowner.

On Twitter recently. there were a few comments from a people complaining that there appeared to be more and more dandelions this year, implying that people were being slovenly in failing to remove them and were making the neighbourhood appear neglected.  Almost immediately there were hundreds of responses noting the importance of dandelions for bees and other pollinators as well as noting the health benefits they offer humans.

Many people suggested that the increased presence of dandelions may be a result of environmental organization asking us to stow away our lawnmowers for the month of May in order to allow food sources to bloom and to provide food supplies for insects such as bees, butterflies and ants. In a recent article about “No Mow May,” Matthew Braun, manager of conservation, science and planning with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, noted that, “if we are “looking for ways to contribute to conservation and green ideas and biodiversity in our own backyards," this is one small thing that could make a big difference: https://globalnews.ca/news/7847490/no-mow-may-campaign-biodiversity/

There’s nothing wrong with dandelions. These sprightly flowers have been used as medicines for centuries in various cultures. Some health practitioners claim that dandelions may offer benefits to humans such as providing anti-oxidants, decreasing swelling, regulating blood sugar and boosting the immune system: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324083  

Many people have also used dandelions to make a delicious dessert wine which has a beautiful golden colour and a flavour that has been compared to mead.

If we don't think of them as weeds and nuisances, surely we will welcome dandelions as an attractive and beneficial addition to a field of grass or a front lawn.

We might even greet them eagerly as Walt Whitman did (Leaves of Grass)

Simple and fresh and fair from winter's close emerging,
As if no artifice of fashion, business, politics, had ever been,
Forth from its sunny nook of shelter'd grass—innocent, golden, calm as the dawn,
The spring's first dandelion shows its trustful face.

 

Soil

 

In the beginning there was soil, a splash of seawater and a sliver of stardust. Or something like that. Certainly in the beginning, whether you’re reading Genesis, or Greek myths about Prometheus, or Mesopotamian creation myths, there will be some reference to humans being formed from clay. Then life was breathed into them and from then on it was dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Whatever words you use, whatever stories you tell, it’s clear that soil is key to human life.

And yet, many of us haven't paid enough attention to the soil. The word itself can have a negative association. To “sully" or "soil ourselves” can refer to our reputation being tainted, or worse, to losing control over one’s bowels. 

Partridge’s etymological dictionary connects the word first with the Latin solum, the lower part or base of anything, e.g. the bed of the sea, a floor, and the ground itself, and also the Latin sul and the Old French soillier which gives words like stain, bemire and sully. Both those meanings remain with us so that, although we admire the fruits of the earth, we urge children not to get dirty.

Until recently, most of us haven’t paid enough attention to the importance of soil. Just as we look at the stars but fail to see the sky, we look at the ground and see flowers and plants but not the soil. But that’s changing. Many scientists are now writing about the importance of soil, pointing out that life above the ground depends upon the soil and that no plants would grow and no people could live without soil organisms.

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/why-soil-matters-more-to-life-than-we-realise/

Here in B.C., we are learning a lot from internationally renowned UBC scientist Suzanne Simard who, in her new book, Mother Tree, tells us about the understory of the forest, how underground networks of trees and fungi form partnership called mycorrhizas through which they exchange water and various nutrients for carbon-rich sugars. Simard suggests that mycorrhizal communication involves “not just resource transfers, but things like defense signaling and kin recognition.” What we may have thought of as the dirt under our feet turns out to be precious soil that is teeming with life, rich with resources, and full of information.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/04/993430007/trees-talk-to-each-other-mother-tree-ecologist-hears-lessons-for-people-too

Leonard Da Vinci always knew that soil was important and he regretted his lack knowledge about it: “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.” 

Mahatma Gandhi emphasized how important it was for people to pay attention to the soil: “To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” 

Thankfully, it turns out that there is much exciting work on soil regeneration currently happening around the world and here in Canada:

https://regenerationcanada.org/en/about-us/

I’m writing this post on Mother’s Day, and so I’m sending best wishes to all of the mothers I know and gratitude to all the mothers who brought us here. I’m feeling thankful for Mother Earth – for her soul and her soil. It’s not too late for us to learn from her teachings.

 

Note: There have been some changes to my blog which sometimes means that the links don’t work. If they aren’t connecting you to the reference, you may have to copy the link and paste it into your browser. Apologies – I’m trying to get this fixed.