This week’s bouquet is a combo of two weeds and an almost weed.
While dandelions are considered a nuisance weed by the majority of people, I happen to treasure them. I even go so far as to keep a row of them in my raised beds, and eat them in my daily lunch salads.
You can read about their many health benefits online. And you can find many websites telling you how to make salves, vinegars, and teas from them.
And very importantly, dandelions are an early spring staple for the honey bees. When the dandelions bloom, it is considered the beginning of the first major “honey flow” in my area. With everyone killing dandelions in their yards with pesticides, is it any wonder the honey bee population is in decline?
I’m trying to be more health conscious using herbs and natural plants, while keeping my distance from Big Pharma.
The second weed is unknown to me by name, but comes up every spring in my front yard. It can only be found before the first grass cutting. After that the bloom does not return and is becoming more scarce every year. It is hardly noticed in this bouquet since there was very little to find this year.
And lastly I’m including a euphorbia, also an unknown variety.
I dug this up from a neighbors garden one fall. They had moved out and the house sits empty still, but she said I could take all I wanted. I only took 5 or 6 stems with roots, and they looked like there was little chance of surviving the transplant. But . . . little did I know, this little euphorbia is as hardy as any weed and spreads like one.
It makes a great low, ground cover if you don’t care how far and fast it spreads. When I planted it, each plant had only one stalk. This is only its second year, and it has already jumped the boundaries of the stone wall and is heading for the lawn. I can see that controlling it will be an issue, a problem associated with many weeds.
This bouquet is very small, but so full of brightness, sunshine, and cheer . . . perfect for the kitchen window sill.
Honey bees and dandelions will always be a match made in heaven.
Linking today with Cathy of Rambling in a Garden for more lovely vase arrangements.
Your weeds make a pretty arrangement, Cindy, and I appreciated your appeal for the value of dandelions. I think your second weed may be Senecio inaequidens aka narrow-leaved ragwort, a South African wildflower. I have what I think it the very same Euphorbia (possibly E. peplus) in my own garden, which appears all over my garden following our rainy season. I’ve always thought it was rather pretty but have never used it in an arrangement – an omission on my part!
Thank you for the info Kris. The pictures do look like the ragwort, although I have never seen it beyond a single stem since it blooms just as the yard needs its first cut. It is a cute little thing. And the other Euphorbia, well, you know I’ve never paid much attention to plant names other than their common one. If it doesn’t behave, I may refer to it as Euphorbia weed
I was just thinking of dandelions today and the possibility of using them in a vase. Alas I rent and the dandelions here are either targets of the dogs when they do their business or covered in chemicals by the lawn guys. I used to eat the dandelions in my own garden. I do miss that. Love your vase.
That is the main reason I dug them up and planted them in my raised beds so I don’t have to worry about dog pee. My Mother used to put them in salads occasionally when we were kids and I never liked them, but don’t mind them now. I enjoy knowing they are full of good things not only for me, but also for the bees.
You are so right about your bouquet – it is absolutely charming, and a reminder that if we switch off our instinctive ‘weed’ thoughts, it is a ver attractive flower, and so cheery too. I must look into the health benefits and find out a bit more, so thanks for sharing the link, Cindy
I attached a link for the health benefits of dandelions. It is amazing how many there are from every part of the plant.
Your bouquet of ‘weeds’ is beautiful Cindy! The salad looks good too! I so understand the thoughts about keeping healthy without the nasty stuff Big Pharma produces. In fact, I am posting about dandelions tomorrow and will put a link your post in it as you have captured their beauty so well! Love the little Euphorbia too. That lemony lime green is so cheery.
Thank you Cathy. I’m trying to learn to use plants for my health instead of meds. It takes a lot of research and time to learn all these things our grandparents and great grandparents knew, and it is all so foreign to our modern way of thinking. I want to learn how to make tinctures and salves too.
I love my lunch salads. The leaves get a little bitter after the plant blooms, but a good tasty dressing will camouflage that. I figure that most likely, the less tasty the green is, probably the better it is for you – like kale.
I have always enjoyed the dandelions. My husband, not so much. I have used them in a bouquet before but not for a long time. Thank you for the suggestion! Another great plant for bouquets are Hostas! The leaves are fabulous all by themselves in a glorious vase!
I love the dandelions because I know what they mean to the survival of a bee hive.
I have never tried hostas in an arrangement. I will have to try that next time. I love using lettuce in an arrangement, but alas, it only holds up long enough to take pictures.
There is one gigantic burr oak tree in our neighborhood and it makes a stunning arrangement with just its leaves. It is the prettiest tree in the whole neighborhood. I try to walk by there after a storm or lots of wind to look for fallen branches, but so far there haven’t been any.