The Dandelion Sings...

                                                                                                                    

                                                     Dandelion                                                         ...A damp chill crept through everything as the day unfolded.  An unseasonable 85 degrees had blown over the Magic City only the day before.  Now it was wet from the copious rains and the drop in temperature was if anything, annoying.  Enough with the rollercoaster ride, already!  Non-gardeners would find the grey day depressing, but to a gardener this was a good gardening day. The air was mildly cool and fresh smelling.  Preparing garden spots was a joyful experience as weeds could be easily dislodged from the moist soil.  Each year I have noticed that nature seems to showcase a particular color of spring blooms as trees and flowers come to life.  Last year the color was white.  Anything with white flowers was spectacular in its brilliance.  This year the white flowering trees and flowers were kind of "eh".  As I searched for this year's showcase color, pink seemed to be the color for this year.  The tulips all seemed to be bright and exciting, especially the red ones.  But this year the pink blossoming trees seemed to be the stars of the show.  One tree in particular caught my eye.  All Barberton is bathed in pink as it is time for the Cherry Blossom Festival.  Not only is Lake Anna encircled with cherry blossoms, but the whole town has increasingly been planted with cherry blossom trees.  This year all the Pink Ladies, as I call them, are thrilling.   Soon there will be a pink snow storm of tree flowers blowing in the air, falling to the ground as the flowers end their brief season.  Even the pale tulip tree blossoms were exciting to see.  As a student many years ago, the blooming of the tulip trees always accompanied the spring tests in school.  Funny what memories are stirred in spring...
       Each time the sun dares to pop out, dandelions seem to explode in every yard.  Most people don't think of the lowly dandelion as anything but a weed to be exterminated.  Though that may be the current mindset is not how folks viewed the funny little yellow flower.  Herbalists and gardeners know about its therapeutic benefits.  Dandelions are full of iron.  Dandelion tea is prepared from chopped roasted roots.  Personally I would recommend using a lot of honey to curb the dirty weed taste.  My great grandmother used to make dandelion wine.  Back then people didn't poison their dandelions trying to remove them from their yards.  If you intend to try making your own dandelion wine, be sure to harvest untainted blossoms.  Dandelion blossoms and leaves may also be prepared much like collard greens to be eaten in the spring in particular.  A bit of bacon will improve the bitter flavor.  Old-timers used to eat bitter greens in the spring after a winter of too few vegetables in their diet.  Such dietary changes helped to rid folks of worms ingested from the meats they consumed.  Dandelions were part of the spring tune-up for one's systems.  Dandelion wine is mostly a medical wine used to aid digestion and to help cleanse the kidneys and liver.  The flower contains vitamins A,B,C, and D.  They are also rich in potassium.  Who would have actually expected a wine to be good for your liver?  By the time I started being interested in herbal things my great grandmother was gone from this world taking with her all those wonderful herbal secrets.  Though I don't have her recipe for dandelion wine I have found several recipes for that medical concoction.  And for those of you who just want to taste dandelion wine without the mess of making it, wineries online do offer it for sale.
      Things are perking up in Le Petit Jardin.  I have been awaiting the resurrection of plants that return each year.  One of my lavender plants is greening up.  The hens and chicks are looking positively robust.  As for anything else, it has been too wet and cold for any resurgence to take place.  But warmer days are coming.  By Memorial Day I should be able to consider planting sunflower seeds.  That will be a happy day.  The Mad Whacker has been here and miraculously he did not touch my lavender plant.  This could prove to be an interesting growing season after all.  Meanwhile I have treated myself to some Blackberry Sage tea and am looking for a cookie to go with that.  Then, gardening adventures await...