Dandelions and Blue Violets

     Today, April 21, 2016, our short-grass back yard in New Holland, Pennsylvania is beautifully full of golden dandelion flowers and the purple blossoms of flowering blue violets.  And it has been that way every spring at this time.  When I drive around on errands or whatever, I notice many other lawns also have innumerable dandelion and blue violet flowers, colorful bouquets of them.  The innumerable yellow and blue dots on short-grass lawns make lovely color combinations in great abundance. 
     Many people here consider those two abundant plant species to be weeds to be eliminated from lawns.  But I think those people are missing out on free beauty in abundance.  And those blooms are only visible for a few weeks from about the middle of April to around mid-May, depending on the weather.
     Dandelions are aliens from Europe and very invasive.  They spread rapidly because each dandelion plant grows short and long flower stems.  Dandelions growing on lawns that are regularly mowed can't grow seeds on long stems because those flower heads are cut off.  But those dandelions still grow seeds on short stems that are not cut because they develop and go to seed below the reach of the mower blades.  Our lawn is loaded with dandelions with short blossom stems.
     Each seed of several on a dandelion blossom head has a parachute that carries its cargo away on the wind, spreading this species across the landscape.  Seeds that land on good soil and are not eaten by mice and small, seed-eating birds will sprout into new plants.
     And dandelion plants must be completely dug out of the ground to eradicate them.  If any bit of the root is left in the soil, it will grow a new plant.
     Dandelion leaves are edible to people, either raw in salads or steamed like spinach.  Every spring many people dig up dandelions to eat.  In fact, there are dandelion farms in Europe where the plants are sold in food markets.  I have eaten dandelion leaves often over the years, but my main fascination with this plant species is the beauties of its green leaves, yellow flowers and the small, seed-eating birds that eat many of its numerous seeds from the flower heads during late April and into May.
     Several kinds of colorful and interesting birds eat dandelion seeds on our lawns and in fields in May.  Some of those birds are the permanent resident northern cardinals, yellow and black American goldfinches, pink and gray house finches and song sparrows.  Migrating seed-eating birds include chipping sparrows, deep-blue indigo buntings and field sparrows.       
     Blue violets are native woodland wildflowers that have adapted to our lawns and today are tremendously abundant on many of them.  Most violet blooms are short enough to be missed by the mowers, allowing this species to go through its life cycle unharmed.  Patches of violet flowers are coolly subtle compared to the "blaring" gold of dandelion blossoms. 
     I annually enjoy dandelion and blue violet flowers on our lawn every spring.  And I miss them when they fade away.  My advice to anyone is to enjoy them, and anything, while you can.