My guinea pig eats the leaves and my dog eats the flowers. A friend is a bee-keeper and she said this towards the end of April.
A lot of us are getting out into our gardens after the long, wet, cold winter which will have been particularly hard on hibernators. Only this week have I started seeing any noticeable number of bumble bee queens out and about. Please remember that dandelions are one of the highest quality sources of nectar and pollen at this time of the year for bees and other pollinating insects. Try and give them a chance to forage before hacking all the flowers off, it will benefit the rest of your garden later in the season and you get the pleasure of that lovely sound of a bumbling bee.
I mowed my grass today and went around all the dandelions It's been a boom year for dandelions around here, fields and roadsides are awash with yellow. It looks amazing.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
This isnt "weedy" grass Blue Onion, I am not prescious about the grass, I dont feed or weed, got 2 dogs, andf rampaging grandkids! I have a pond, and an area round fruit trees, we have done completely as wildflower meadow, its our front border, trying to make it nice, overrun with weeds from next door, plus our driveway, its a nightmare. My lawn at the moment, is dasies,celendines, am fine with that.Their dandilions have been flowering (and seeding) all winter, have also seen plenty of bumble beas all year, I am growing plenty of other stuff for them!
Yes, dandelions in our garden too for the tortoises - one loves the flowers the other enjoys the leaves - two happy tortoises and saves a few pennies on other foods.
Well mowing around the weeds has paid off. Outside the patio doors this morning while I was eating my breakfast was a lovely little goldlfinch also enjoying his breakfast.
Excuse the photo quality, I had to take it through the glass and I clean my windows about as often as I weed the lawn
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Still. Another amazing wildlife shot WE, thanks for sharing. My crop of dandelions is currently over, but now there is a fair sized patch of clover for the bees. Yesterday I mowed around a patch of native globe mallow that randomly showed up this spring. It is the favorite flower of our native globe mallow bee.
This is from one of the reviews on the website link.. "Dandelion is one of the most efficient diuretics in nature, making coffee from the roots will not diminish this quality. It’s good because blood pressure may be improved this way and dandelion, unlike “manufactured” diuretics, ie Furosemide, will not destroy your natural supply of potassium. However, a note of caution, dandelion was not known as “pee-in-bed” for nothing and elderly people or those prone to weak bladders should bear this in mind."
Haha.. this ties into my colloquial plant name post.. I assumed they got their name from the color of the flower.. not the after effects of consumption.
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A friend is a bee-keeper and she said this towards the end of April.
A lot of us are getting out into our gardens after the long, wet, cold winter which will have been particularly hard on hibernators. Only this week have I started seeing any noticeable number of bumble bee queens out and about. Please remember that dandelions are one of the highest quality sources of nectar and pollen at this time of the year for bees and other pollinating insects. Try and give them a chance to forage before hacking all the flowers off, it will benefit the rest of your garden later in the season and you get the pleasure of that lovely sound of a bumbling bee.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
"Dandelion is one of the most efficient diuretics in nature, making coffee from the roots will not diminish this quality. It’s good because blood pressure may be improved this way and dandelion, unlike “manufactured” diuretics, ie Furosemide, will not destroy your natural supply of potassium.
However, a note of caution, dandelion was not known as “pee-in-bed” for nothing and elderly people or those prone to weak bladders should bear this in mind."
Haha.. this ties into my colloquial plant name post.. I assumed they got their name from the color of the flower.. not the after effects of consumption.