Spring is here and little heads of sunshine yellow are popping up EVERYWHERE. This is the time of year little fists are handing bouquets of these weeds to you with enthusiastic grins and shining eyes. Every mother looks forward to this time when the children show their love and affection.
Childhood memories abound in the empty abandoned lots and roadsides. Homeowners fight off these flowers with harsh chemicals, but they are missing out because there’s so much more to these then a common weed. Dandelions are a powerful herb.
Dandelion for health
Dandelion greens can be used for a salad packed full of nutrition including Vitamin C, almost as much iron as spinach, and four times the Vitamin A. The entire dandelion plant is edible. Dandelion Jelly makes a great honey substitute for a tight budget.
Dandelion root makes a great caffeine-free coffee substitute that works as an antidepressant. Roasted roots give a bolder flavor than fresh.
Dandelion root is a natural heart-healthy diuretic that flushes the liver and gallbladder. One of the main uses for dandelion root is to relieve constipation without the effects of laxatives. Dandelion root helps improve the overall condition and health of the body.
Dandelion is great for the skin. You can make your own Dandelion slave to restore our hands after a long hard day working in the garden.
Dandelions are a great anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Make these dandelion bath bombs for to enjoy a nice hot soak in the tub.
Dandelion fun for the kids
You can have your children paint yellow with the heads of dandelions on scrap paper.
Pealing dandelion stems dropped into icy cold water curl up amusing children for hours at a time. You remember doing that as a kid right?
Why do people consider Dandelion a weed?
Due to the nature of dandelions, they spread like wildfire. Think back to your years as a child. You would lift a big puffy white ball perched upon a long green stem. Make a wish and blow with all your might to send little puff topped seeds scattering into the wind.
With hundreds of seeds per flower, dandelions can cover a lot of ground. Many homeowners do not like the look of a lawn full of dandelions and eradicating them is a challenge because they can grow back with just a tiny piece of root remaining in the ground.
Dandelions are beneficial for your garden.
Plants like tomatoes have shallow roots. Dandelions pull nutrients up through the soil helping shallow root plants grow. Unfortunately, if they are allowed to take over a lawn they will crowd out pretty fast.
Not only are dandelions helpful, but so many go to such damaging lengths to rid their yard of them, that now they have a chemical lawn.