How to make the most of the Dandelions in your garden

It has been warm and it has been a bit wet and the dandelions are out in force.

You might love their sunny faces, or they might be the scourge of your lovely lawn.

Whatever your feelings, they are really underrated plants and have many uses!

The flowers can be made into a skin treatment or vegan honey, their roots can be made into tea and their leaves can feed your smaller veggie pets.

More than that though, they are an essential food source for many pollinators in the early season.

After the tree pollen has been, dandelions, daisies, and buttercups are the first flowers to offer food for bees and butterflies so please think carefully before treating them with chemicals.

If you want to get rid, chemical-free treatment is best; it means there’s little chance of harming pollinators, but I know that it is your prerogative to use herbicides if you want.

If you are going to spray your weeds, please could you think about picking the flower heads off before you do?

If you do this, the bees and butterflies will not be attracted, will not land on the spray and will not become poisoned or worse, take the poison back to the hive to feed the larvae and other bees.

Most herbicides which are safe to use on lawns are systemic and work by absorption through the leaves.

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