The Last To Know

No i did'nt either.

Dandelions are a sign of deep, rich soil, so there you go! Lucky you!!

It is also a useful butterfly nectar plant, and bullfinches love pulling the clocks to pieces and eating the seed!

Could also be why rabbits luuuuurve the stuff too!!

I knew that. ( boast :o) )
You can also get dandelion coffee which is made from the roots.
My mother sais she used to make sandwiches out of dandelion leaves when she was a little girl. She sais they're very nice.

The bunnies knew the nutrition value of dandelions a long time ago. Lol.
Good blog, GardenGnome :o)

Nettles too GGnome apparently. Young, fresh leaves as a spinach alternative or nettle juice to encourage hair growth and stop dandruff. I think I'll stick with Head and Shoulders.

i knew it was a mild diuretic, hence its local name of 'pissy beds'. i used to eat the young leaves as a girl, along with nasturium leaves too.

Sbg, you didn't tell us that for someone to make some comment, did you? I'm going to be very restrained and not say anything (like no wonder you're not right in the head........... lol!!)

Oh alright then, I used to eat the cobnuts off the hazel tree as a young girl!!!

Tho' I recently found out that borage in pimms is supposed to be nice! Guess what plant I bought recently........

Sure hope it wasn't Dandelion Craftnutter. lol.

Believe it or not, you can also make a balm to take the heat out of sunburn with stinging nettles (although I've never tried it myself). I remember seeing it on the local news program when I was a teenager growing up in Devon. They took the product out on the beaches in August one year and rubbed it on to sunburnt tourists and they all wanted to know what it was because it was so effective

Thanks for all your input. Keep 'em comin' I'm learning a lot!! Maybe my next garden will be a "Weed" bed!!

these were properly prepared salads not me just munching random leaves. I am not that mad honest.

My tortoises know all about the benefits of eating dandelions, they love them.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned dandelion and burdock pop. I'm I the only one who remembers that. Can you still get it?

'Piss in the Bed' and 'Pissenwort' are two names for dandelion for the same reason that Sbg has already described so luridly! The leaves make an addition to salads and, have you ever taken a close look at the flowers - they are really attractive in their own right.

OH yes I use all these I make my own vitems from nettel, wheat grass, horese tail and several others, HUGE healing power. I love making my own salves and soaps and tincures and infustions all very good med. I also make my own cough syrups. Herbal teas as well good for you learing something new Iam all about that every day. Thanks for sharing.

Oh Gilli Dandelion and Burdock, how wonderful was that.I thought that was just from the North of England, along with Cream Soda and Sasparilla (Sas) - Marsh's Sas, penny a glass, if you drink it you go Splash. A long time ago.

I remember drinking dandelion and burdock when I lived in Wakefield, Ginellie. Haven't had any in eons. One of my earliest memories is having a glass in our neighbour's farm house and watching Mrs. Thompson bathing her baby in front of the fire. I must have been about 2 and a half. LOL.

you can still get D&B pop in some supermarkets. i preferred Saspirella from the Vaux brewery in Sunderland. havent seen that for years either.

borage flowers are also edible along with the cucumber flavoured leaves.

I've just found a note on dandelion flowers. They make a clear, rich, sherry-like herbal wine. The flowers may also be used as a nutritional garnish-when young, they have a sweet, honey-like flavor and impart a beautiful yellow hue to herbal vinegars. I'm now looking for the recipe for the wine. Anybody have it? Or know where I can get it??

I used to make dandelion wine many years ago, I am sure you could Google it. As for the sherry taste I certainly do not remember it!!

You are going to love this one, Gardengnome! I used to dig out the dandelions by the root... Their long taproot is quite difficult to dislodge and must be taken all of a piece because if you leave any behind it will sprout again..busy things...but in the small patch at the curb (which technically doesn't belong to us) I removed the dandelions by hand rather than with chemicals....I had a huge pile of them in the wheel barrow and Mandy came along a snagged one ...she lay down in the shade and consumed it!! wasn't long til she was back for another! Mandy has always had bladder problems and I was not surprised when I read about the medicinal value of dandelion root for the urinary tract... lol... my dog knew about it before I did!!! lol.

BTW... their name comes from French.... dent de leon....lion's tooth for the serrated leaves!... it's been a vegetable in Europe for a long time and it a naturalization success story...I don't think there's a place on the planet...( except Antarctica or the deserts perhaps) where this plant could not establish.

My grandfather bred canaries and he was always on the lookout for dandelion flowers just before they opened - the birds loved them for nesting material!

wonder if the colour played any part in that selection? I think they are pretty and after a long cold colourless winter they are usually the first thing to bloom.

Thanks for all the additional information Lori, However, you can't include the desert areas as an exception because I live in the desert and they do thrive here very readily. Since writing this blog I have actually eaten dandelion greens. Some of them are quite bitter for my taste but others are quite edible and taste great!

After all the herbicides that have been sprayed on the soil in my neighbourhood, I think I'll give sampling the local dandelions a pass! lol. I suppose I was thinking of the "shifting sands" when I said desert...but you're quite right. Have read that the older leaves become less bitter...and that the youngest leaves are the best tasting...it's the leaves of most active growth that seem to be the most bitter. It's called wild endive in some places.