I love how evocative your writing is…luscious, grounded, decadent, freeing. There’s a lightness and depth to it simultaneously. I was smiling throughout.
Dandelions have always meant a return to childhood, to innocence, to possibilities, to believing in wishes, to surrender…dandelions remind me that every moment hinges on fragility but the ephemerality of it doesn’t take away its beauty.
Mansi, thank you so much for saying so. I love this idea of dandelion as a symbol, for you I can see it encompasses so much goodness, which doesn't surprise me one bit knowing you! But for others it's unsightly, unkempt, untidy, the last thing you want to see overtake your neighbor's lawn or your own - and what a loss this is! The dandelion needs a new PR team so it can be universally celebrated!
I love this! My partner and I were just talking about dandelions and wondering when everyone started hating them. My neighbors painstakingly dig them up by the roots, while we sit on the porch and admire ours. My teenagers still pick them and make wishes.
All this speaks volumes, Adrienne!!! I love that your teenagers still pick them and make wishes - ahhh, may they continue to do so through adulthood! One person's weed is another person's wildflower of course... so much easier to admire them from the porch than to dig up those long tap roots though!
When did we stop eating the weeds? When we bought into the idea that food comes from the store, or at least that food is deliberately cultivated. I've foraged plants from the yard once or twice, but it was more of an exercise, like, "can I do this? Yes."
Thanks for your comment, Kevin. I think it's partly a trade off with urban living. When my grandparents came over from Greece and Turkey to places far more urban than where they came from, there was a disconnect from the way of life that depended immensely from foraging... not to mention a whole different 'menu' of wild foods available even if they were in a more rural setting as I am in now. I'll never forget my trips to Greece and Turkey seeing grape vines and fig trees growing out of cracks in the pavement. Wouldn't that be nice!
Yes, I ate some wild grapes with my nephew last fall - they were... an experience! It was fun to identify them but not especially pleasurable if I'm being honest. I have plans for the leaves though - going to stuff them and make dolmades, at least that is the plan!
They are a staple of our diet for sure and I find them quite beautiful in all their forms. I’ve often thought about the context of a field filled with flowers and how one flower might be seen as valuable and another as an invader. People come up with the strangest ways to react out of fear and insecurity towards things that don't fit their view.
Davin, thank you, I was thinking of you when I was writing this as you are probably one person who I presume has always had a good attitude towards dandelions. And I love that they are a staple of your diet. I've never lived anywhere that has had so many of them at my fingertips, growing in a clean spot, far from pesticides etc... it's been fun and delicious to enjoy them this year. It's absurd to even contemplate that people would rather spray chemicals on the lawn that surrounds their home rather than have dandelions growing in it.
Lovely addition to your ‘hand bouquet’ series. For our low-key wedding I remember suggesting a big bunch of dandelions! I wasn’t much interested in choosing fancy flowers. However, my mother spoke to the village florist and between them they decided on a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums - close but not close.
Oh I love knowing that you wanted a dandelion bouquet! That would have been a very tricky bouquet as I find cut dandelions look unhappy almost immediately but that would have been so unique!
Thank you for the heads up on the aurora, John - feels wonderful to see the moon and stars again after so many cloudy nights, but now smoky haze is wafting over. We've added extra paths to the meadow this year, including a path into the woods - lots to explore this summer!
It turned out to not come as far south as expected, and yes, the smoke turned into another problem for anyone west of us. That smoke has been curling back up towards Newfoundland. I did get a shot, see my note today on my stack. I think an action camera might be in the works. Computational photography is getting amazing. Clear and summer like here today. Love that meadow of yours. Looking forward to some forest walks too.
Diana, I thought you might agree with this passage about dandelions by Louise Erdrich in her latest book, The Mighty Red:
"Dandelions had spread across every continent because their wind-borne seeds were tiny; they sank deep taproots, and they did not require pollinators because they are both male and female. They persisted also because of their habit of bringing sunny cheer after winters of exhaustion. Some people and most parks gave up, simply welcomed them in spring, and mowed them down before they made seeds. They were the sun when they bloomed, the moon when they formed seed heads, and the stars when you blew on the fragile globes."
I love your hand bouquet series 🥰💐
Thank you, Jen... I love having it as an ongoing project, there is so much more to create in the palm of my hand!
I love how evocative your writing is…luscious, grounded, decadent, freeing. There’s a lightness and depth to it simultaneously. I was smiling throughout.
Dandelions have always meant a return to childhood, to innocence, to possibilities, to believing in wishes, to surrender…dandelions remind me that every moment hinges on fragility but the ephemerality of it doesn’t take away its beauty.
Thank you for this gift, today, Diana.
Mansi, thank you so much for saying so. I love this idea of dandelion as a symbol, for you I can see it encompasses so much goodness, which doesn't surprise me one bit knowing you! But for others it's unsightly, unkempt, untidy, the last thing you want to see overtake your neighbor's lawn or your own - and what a loss this is! The dandelion needs a new PR team so it can be universally celebrated!
Diana’s Dandelions 🥰 There’s your PR Team title. It has such a beautiful rhythm to it.
Having just finished Serviceberry, my goodness I see such a connection here 🌼
Yay, love that you read it!
I love this! My partner and I were just talking about dandelions and wondering when everyone started hating them. My neighbors painstakingly dig them up by the roots, while we sit on the porch and admire ours. My teenagers still pick them and make wishes.
All this speaks volumes, Adrienne!!! I love that your teenagers still pick them and make wishes - ahhh, may they continue to do so through adulthood! One person's weed is another person's wildflower of course... so much easier to admire them from the porch than to dig up those long tap roots though!
When did we stop eating the weeds? When we bought into the idea that food comes from the store, or at least that food is deliberately cultivated. I've foraged plants from the yard once or twice, but it was more of an exercise, like, "can I do this? Yes."
Thanks for your comment, Kevin. I think it's partly a trade off with urban living. When my grandparents came over from Greece and Turkey to places far more urban than where they came from, there was a disconnect from the way of life that depended immensely from foraging... not to mention a whole different 'menu' of wild foods available even if they were in a more rural setting as I am in now. I'll never forget my trips to Greece and Turkey seeing grape vines and fig trees growing out of cracks in the pavement. Wouldn't that be nice!
I imagine it would be tough to learn a whole new variety of plants to eat.
I've seen uncultivated grapes growing, but only once were they any good. Those had once been cultivated, but had gone feral.
Yes, I ate some wild grapes with my nephew last fall - they were... an experience! It was fun to identify them but not especially pleasurable if I'm being honest. I have plans for the leaves though - going to stuff them and make dolmades, at least that is the plan!
They are a staple of our diet for sure and I find them quite beautiful in all their forms. I’ve often thought about the context of a field filled with flowers and how one flower might be seen as valuable and another as an invader. People come up with the strangest ways to react out of fear and insecurity towards things that don't fit their view.
Gorgeous photo. Great addition to your series.
Davin, thank you, I was thinking of you when I was writing this as you are probably one person who I presume has always had a good attitude towards dandelions. And I love that they are a staple of your diet. I've never lived anywhere that has had so many of them at my fingertips, growing in a clean spot, far from pesticides etc... it's been fun and delicious to enjoy them this year. It's absurd to even contemplate that people would rather spray chemicals on the lawn that surrounds their home rather than have dandelions growing in it.
Oh, another flowers in hand arrangement! Beautiful!
Thank you so much Susanne!
Lovely addition to your ‘hand bouquet’ series. For our low-key wedding I remember suggesting a big bunch of dandelions! I wasn’t much interested in choosing fancy flowers. However, my mother spoke to the village florist and between them they decided on a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums - close but not close.
Oh I love knowing that you wanted a dandelion bouquet! That would have been a very tricky bouquet as I find cut dandelions look unhappy almost immediately but that would have been so unique!
Another fine hand bouquet. I love the winding path through your dandelion patch. Keep a watch out for the aurora. I'm scanning the skies now.
Thank you for the heads up on the aurora, John - feels wonderful to see the moon and stars again after so many cloudy nights, but now smoky haze is wafting over. We've added extra paths to the meadow this year, including a path into the woods - lots to explore this summer!
It turned out to not come as far south as expected, and yes, the smoke turned into another problem for anyone west of us. That smoke has been curling back up towards Newfoundland. I did get a shot, see my note today on my stack. I think an action camera might be in the works. Computational photography is getting amazing. Clear and summer like here today. Love that meadow of yours. Looking forward to some forest walks too.
Diana, I thought you might agree with this passage about dandelions by Louise Erdrich in her latest book, The Mighty Red:
"Dandelions had spread across every continent because their wind-borne seeds were tiny; they sank deep taproots, and they did not require pollinators because they are both male and female. They persisted also because of their habit of bringing sunny cheer after winters of exhaustion. Some people and most parks gave up, simply welcomed them in spring, and mowed them down before they made seeds. They were the sun when they bloomed, the moon when they formed seed heads, and the stars when you blew on the fragile globes."
That last sentence is staggeringly beautiful - thank you for sharing this, Mom! I definitely agree!