tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2207522223081661863.post6985157651618030099..comments2023-05-17T09:05:26.491+01:00Comments on The Economy Project: The Gift of a DandelionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2207522223081661863.post-35659384780047516532012-07-27T18:12:12.468+01:002012-07-27T18:12:12.468+01:00A READER COMMENTS:
Where I live in Canada we usua...A READER COMMENTS: <br />Where I live in Canada we usually also have a lot of dandelions, but I disagree with the classification of dandelion as "weed." Compared to real garden weeds — the really prickly and unpleasant kinds — it isn't fair to compare the gentle, pretty, and very useful dandelion to such nasty weeds. Artistically, I would not call the bright yellow landscapes with dandelions "spoilt". Our grassy areas in parks have been overrun by dandelions ever since the city banned the use of herbicides, but I think the parks look quite nice with dandelions for a few weeks, very much like the vast yellow canola fields.<br /><br />Likewise the dandelions in our yard — we aren't using dangerous chemicals to kill dandelions and so I can control them by harvesting them. One can not only eat the greens as salad, or harvest roots for medicinal purposes or coffee substitute, but it is possible to make dandelion honey or pancake syrup or even dandelion wine, something Chesterton may not have been aware of, but surely would have approved of. Besides, it is apparently also used in the traditional English root beer. And believe me one needs a lot of dandelion flowers to make a few gallons of good dandelion wine. In fact, this year I am disappointed, because we have hardly had any dandelions due to extremely wet weather.<br /><br />As a garden weed, dandelion is considered a "beneficial weed", (which is an oxymoron), or rather a good companion plant, because its roots will bring up nutrients for plants with shallower roots, its roots also add nitrogen and minerals to the soil, the flowers attract pollinating insects, and since the plant releases ethylene, dandelion aids fruit ripening.<br /><br />Historically, dandelion is a very valuable medicinal plant, one that can prevent or treat numerous diseases, as you can easily find out on the Internet. Dandelion is an excellent source of essential nutrients and it is one of the best sources of vitamin K, especially considering that all artificial forms of the vitamin have some toxicity. The newest medical research shows that it may be effective even for treating cancer and leukemia, see the link below.<br /><br />Perhaps Chesterton wasn't consciously aware of dandelion's usefulness, but one could hardly find a better symbolic flower signifying Distributism with all its aspects — hardiness, beauty (as even its old English name indicates), food, thriftiness, medicine, healing, honey, wine, etc. Besides, the image of millions of dandelions is very much like Walt Whitman's image of the leaves of grass signifying democracy.<br /><br />THANK YOU FOR THESE REMARKS!Stratford Caldecotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05239053224257881002noreply@blogger.com