Heather's Blog

I hate this, but in my mind not all plants are created equal. I want them to be, but the new cantaloupe plant is more valuable than the dandelion that's trying to crowd it out. When we lived in Texas, we had mushrooms. Usually there would be a couple of dozen here and there throughout the spring. But one year there were hundreds. 17 buckets full. Our big trash can was half filled with them by the time we had collected them all. Some were tiny little red and white speckled things, that made me think of fairy hats and gnome umbrellas. Some were sickly, gray or slimy or soft to the touch. But the majority were these overstuffed monsters with heads bigger than apples and stalks as big around as my wrists. They were horrifying -- worse if you left them to cook in the sun for a few days. 

And so I look at my yard. I see the happy dandelions -- with their yellow heads. But what I really see are the threat they pose to my flowerbeds and my vegetable garden. So, I go on a rampage, ripping them up and throwing them into the fire pit. But some part of me feels a tiny bit guilty. It's not their fault they multiply and take over. They are just especially good at it. Maybe next time I move, I should just grow dandelions. Then I'll look out in my yard and be pleased ast what an awesome gardner I am.