A very good question from Dara. Dandelions are beautiful useful and tasty.
No plant is in itself is a weed:
A weed is a plant out of place.
In an onion patch, onions you need
But a rose wouldn’t dare show its face
Hemlock shouldn’t be grown with your herbs
And no carrots improve a bouquet
It’s an image that really disturbs:
A rare orchid dried up to make hay
But a dandelion’s always at home
On a lawn, by the road, in the wood,
They don’t have to be specially grown.
The just grow where they feel like they should.
So welcome each bright golden face
And each flyaway feathery seed
A weed is a plant out of place
And no dandelion’s ever a weed.
Tom Juniper Poetry 