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What's blooming in your backyard?
By Cynthia B. Coleman • Staff Writer
 | | Asteraceae (formerly Compositae) the 'flowers' are morphologically a composite flower head consisting of many tiny flowers called florets. (Recorder photo by Cynthia B. Coleman) |
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Hot Springs - Lowly little weed, the dandelion. Most people would hack, dig, and spray to rid their yards of the bright, yellow blight, the blaring imperfection of their yards.
Yet dandelions hold within their brilliant yellow a secret, a secret perhaps known only to a few: they can fly.Yes, dandelions can fly.If anyone steps softly and quietly near a patch of the bright yellow weeds, they will see them flyand fillthe skies with their yellow.
Besides blighting yards in spring, dandelions are known as a spring green to be cooked or eaten in salads, or for their roasted roots, used as a coffee substitute. The juice of the leaves and stem can be used for medicinal purposes, the best known for removing warts. The flower heads are used to make dandelion wine.
The humble weed is popular with insects, with at least 93 different kinds frequenting it. One in particular insect, which is important to farmers, is the honeybee. When the fruit tree pollen harvest season ends, the honey bee will gather pollen from the dandelion, which delays the honey farmer from having to artificiallyfeeding the hive.
 | | The eastern redbud trees are real showstoppers in the spring, including these on Church Street in Millboro. Many can also be enjoyed along Route 39 on the way to Warm Springs. (Recorder photo by Gina Hamilton) |
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