Weeds - Dandelion

Dandelion spread through their seeds, but they also have long taproots. If you leave the root while removing the plant, then the plant will regrow. The leaves also lie flat, smootering other plants around them. Dandelions like growing in the lawn, as the leaves grow below the height of the cutters, so survive being mown. So a summer task is digging out the dandelion roots in the lawn with a narrow trowel!

The name comes from "dent de lion" which is French for lion's tooth. This describes the shape of the leaves. The seed head is beautiful. It is called a dandelion clock, because the idea is that you ask the dandelion what time it is, then blow it a number of times to clear off all the seeds, saying "One o'clock, two o'clock,..." It doesn't work. And now you have dandelion seeds all over the garden! The dandelion clock is very fragile, so it's best to weed the dandelions when they flower (or before).

Small dandelion

Dandelion growing in lawn

Flower

Dandelion clock

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