I guess most serious lawn workers and flower lovers would consider the dandelion the most heinous of weeds. Ugh! Get that dandelion outta there! Once they are growing in your lawn, they are almost impossible to get rid of. I read once that the dandelion's roots may go down up to a foot into the earth, maybe farther, but we don't have that much earth here to go down into... and if you don't dig out every bit of root, it will just grow a new dandelion. "Course, you could just spray them and spray them with some kind of weed spray and I guess sooner or later they would cease and desist. Maybe.
If you let that dandelion grow to maturity, it turns into a big ol' ball of fuzzy seeds that the slightest puff of wind or breath of child will send flying into the atmosphere, dancing away on the breeze, seeking earth, any little piece of soil, no matter how poor in nutrients for growing living things, a crack in the pavement or a little dirt here or there and implant itself into that soil to grow another dandelion plant.
The rose, on the other hand, is absolutely beautiful. I love roses. To paraphrase Will Rogers, I have never met a rose I didn't like. Beautiful! Hundreds of different shades, reds, yellows, pinks, orange-y shades, whites, bi-colored, you name a color, there is probably a rose. They can take many different forms, the hybrid tea rose, floribunda roses, rugosa rose types, classic english type roses, and many more. Something for everyone.
Some roses will grow and bloom without much fuss, others need to be babied all their lives to grace us with their beautiful blooms. Water just right, fed just right, just enough sun, prune at the right time. Lots of work.
The reward? Beautiful flowers and sometimes beautiful fragrance. Roses are the preferred flower of the masses, millions of dollars worth being sold every Valentines Day, and for birthdays, anniversaries, most any occasion, roses say it best.
But dandelions. I love dandelions. Love. Those fuzzy little sunny, cheerful yellow blooms. One of if not THE first "flowers" to bloom in spring....or winter. I can usually go out in January if we have had any little bit of warming and find a dandelion blooming. The dandelion, being one of the first to bloom is very important to bees. When bees are coming out on the first warm days, hunting for some sweet nectar, dandelions are there waiting for them.
Who doesn't remember as a child, bringing a dandelion to your mommy, grandma, your teacher, proudly holding out the flower you found, wanting to share the beauty? Who hasn't gotten one of these love offerings from a child? I am reminded of an anecdote I read once of a woman who went into the post office to buy a stamp. The clerk said "You must be a teacher". "Why yes, I am," the woman replied, "I teach first grade, but how did you know?" The clerk pointed at a wilted dandelion pinned on the woman's shoulder.
I love going out in early spring and seeing all the dandelions blooming in my yard, and then when the wild violets, another dreaded "weed" joins in, the beauty almost takes my breath away. Maybe I am too easily swayed...but I love 'em.
Sometimes we are like roses. We have to be nurtured along,
fed all the right things, everything must happen at just the right time or we can't function or grow. We can be beautiful when all the conditions are just right. But if we don't get enough attention, like the rose, well, maybe we don't do very well, maybe we might just kinda cease to exsist.
I want to be like a dandelion. I want to persist. I want my roots, my beliefs to go so deep that if somebody tries to rid me of them they will come back stronger than ever. I want to give joy and sustenance in the rough times when you can't find it anywhere else.
No comments:
Post a Comment