Dandelions!

Well, the strong winds, pelting rain and continuous gloomy skies are not the gardener's perfect spring and yet sales are "blooming!" Most of you are not planting yet but are storing plants in sheds and garages and sun rooms and wherever, waiting for the right time. Remember, please, that plants need to be outdoors as much as possible, that by being planted in those tiny containers makes them fulnerable to the conditions you are providing for them so be attentive. If they are turning yellow, they are being kept too wet. If they are turning brown, they are being kept too dry.

While waiting for that "right time" to plant, here's some food for thought: Ever wonder why dandelion seed was so precious that the earliest explorers and settlers made sure to pack as much seed as they could in their meagre belongings to travel to the unknown lands of North America?

We've all learned how difficult it was to cross the ocean in those early days of exploration and creating settlements in this New World, how many ships were capsized with everyone perishing, how those who survived suffered when they got here. Why oh why would dandelion seed have been such a cherished cargo? Just look out your window at those yellow flowers growing everywhere and think about the early French settlers who brought this plant to North America in the 1700s. Not to entirely blame the French, Spaniards brought it to Mexico and called it chicoria. Germans, not to be outdone, brought dandelions to Pennsylvania. The English, also recognizing the value of this yellow flower, also brought seeds to Canada. Why? Why would they do this to us?

Think about it. Send us your comments.