Dandelions: Death on the Lawn
It’s the very definition of springtime: the cheerful sight of a robin pulling a worm out of the new green grass. But the robin who goes worm-hunting on a well-tended lawn may be bringing more than a tasty meal home to his youngsters. If the lawn has been treated with a pesticide, the robin and his family may become statistics. It’s been estimated by the Audubon Society that more than seven million wild birds are killed by the aesthetic use of lawn pesticides in the United States, every year. Aesthetic use: that doesn’t mean agricultural pesticides to grow food crops. That...
Read MoreDandelion: Up Against the Wall
Dandelions grow anywhere, it seems. That’s almost literally true. Dandelions can sprout in places that seem little short of miraculous, barren habitats where almost any other plant would throw in the towel. They seem to thrive in parking lots, sinking roots into rock-hard soil that’s driven over by cars, parked on by eighteen-wheeler trucks, and scraped and salted in wintertime. The tender green leaves shove their way through gravel and slice through layers of blacktop. Dandelions are found world-wide, spread across the planet on every continent except Antarctica, below sea level...
Read MoreDandelions: On the Road
The road goes ever on and on. Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone And I must follow, if I can… Or maybe I’ll just germinate right here in the middle of the road… Is there anywhere—anywhere!–dandelions won’t grow? A dandelion seed landed here, and somehow found enough specks of dirt and moisture in the cracks to enable it to sprout, and grow, and survive. Dandelions are perennials, and this looks like a...
Read MoreDandelions: A Number of Reasons to Love Them
Parking lots are fertile fields for the weed-loving botanist. You wouldn’t think that anything could grow without soil, without water, in a big pile of rocks–in fact, the reason the rocks were put there was so that weeds wouldn’t move in. But once again, the wily dandelions have outsmarted the humans. Reason #23896 that I love dandelions: they can grow just about anywhere. I never cease to be amazed at the spots where they can thrive. Reason #23897 that I love dandelions: their diversity. Dandelions are like snowflakes: no two alike. Look at these plants, all dandelions, and the...
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