I got this one as Taraxacum albidum from the Swedish gardening organisation’s seed list, but it’s very different from Taraxacum albidum (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=22302). Notice that the flower petals are pinkish at the tips.
Daily Archives: May 22, 2019
Taraxacum albidum: Japanese White Dandelion
Taraxacum albidum from Japan is flowering!
The leaves are more bitter than Taraxacum pseudoroseum, but pleasantly bitter!
Dandelions for bees, beetles and birds
Before my D.A. (Dandelion Awakening) I would religiously remove and cut down as many dandelions as I could, but nowadays my garden perennial beds are full of them. As I’ve written before, dandelions have become probably my most important vegetable in the winter months. I dig up the roots from my garden beds, where I’ve deliberately let them grow, in the autumn, store in my cellar and force them as I need them in cooler rooms in the house. These wild dandelions grow themselves, the only energy I use on them is in the digging and moving to store! A perfect vegetable! There are 11 pages in my book Around the World in 80 plants about the multitude of food uses for dandelions and how you can make a whole meal of them and cycle home after the meal on tyres made of dandelion rubber! But there’s so much more to this miracle plant and I’m sure you’ve read of its many medicinal properties including it being an anti-cancer powerhouse! Sat in the garden, a Eurasian Siskin (grønnsisik) just landed on a dandelion head showing it’s also an important plant for birds in addition to bees, beetles and other insects! Make sure you leave a few dandelions to seed and you may also experience a magical moment like this!
Brambling song in the garden
I was woken to the simple single-note song of a brambling (bjørkefink) atop a spruce tree in the garden! This is such a characteristic sound of Norwegian wilderness in summer!
04:50, 22nd May 2019