Until July 2017, documenting the seasons of coastal Dorset. I'm a complete amateur so don't trust I'm always right. If ever you see I'm wrong - whether with identifications or in anything else - do say! Meanwhile . . . I've now moved to Halifax in West Yorkshire. Click on the link below to collect the new URL. Don't forget to follow there!

Tuesday 15 May 2012

SHEER INDULGENCE - A PLANT I CAN'T RESIST MAKING MUCH OF

Dandelion goes to seed in the grass.

The grass is filling up with strange and beautiful structures.

Dandelion Clock with dandelion flower.
Dandelion Clock with dandelion flower.
Dandelions are racing from flower to clock. Or maybe it only seems so because I've been indoors while they've flowered - in the rain.

The transformation from flower to seed is a mind-boggling process. I'm not even sure I understand the order in which everything happens - let alone what that happening is. I'll have a bash though because I belong to the very small group of Dandelion Appreciators. (Pat at Squirrel Basket is another.)





Dandelion with seeds -  in a bed of fennel.
Dandelion with seeds -  in a bed of fennel.







Hard to believe dandelions haven't arrived from space!


Do you have dandelion posts? If so, let me know and I'll add a link.

Dandelions - do they make life easier or harder for the plants near them? Donna at Gardens Eye View
Dandelions - a feast for Goldfinches - Squirrel Basket
Dandelions - Butterflies, dandelions and trees - Flighty's Plot
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18 comments:

Tim said...

Thanks for sharing your post about Dandelions. I think that they're fab, they're beautiful at every stage and the leaves make a great treat for the rabbits! It's great at the moment seeing the road verges full of yellow dandelion flowers or seas of white seed heads!

Gerald (SK14) said...

lovely to see all the intermediary states - usually its the yellow flowers or the clocks.

Lyn said...

lovely post. I pulled up some dandelions the other day and put them on the path to pick up later but didn't get around to it till the next day....the flowers had turned to seed heads over night even after being ripped from the ground!
xxx

Down by the sea said...

Hi Lucy,
You always amaze me with your detail. The way you have captured the dandelion through the different stages is wonderful!
Sarah

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

I loved these shots of dandelions Lucy - such photogenic plants and also such a great weed to eat aswell.

Mark Willis said...

Very impressive photos! What a shame that people insist on treating the Dandelion as a weed. I suppose that is simply because it has been so successful, and will take over if you let it.

Donna said...

They are lovely but they are taking over a bit here...we actually love to eat the leaves as a salad..I did mention them in my latest book review. The red admiral butterflies were early and came in record numbers.. the dandelions were the only flowers they had for nectar.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful images Lucy, especially the seeds.

They are looking beautiful here too and seem much larger than those of last year.

Anonymous said...

Lovely pictures, Lucy - especially the close-ups of the seedheads!

And thanks so much for the mention :)

Best wishes...

elaine said...

I never realised just how amazing dandelions were close up you found some good specimens.

Thinking of the days said...

Wow! Such beautiful photos of something so reviled by many gardeners I know.

On my allotment, there are dandelions.....many of them, I haven't had time to dig them all up yet, but the looks from other allotment holders....

RURAL said...

I like them, and I appreciate them even more after your gorgeous photos of them. But in my opinion, lol, they should stay on blogs, and in the wild.

Love your shots.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Anonymous said...

A most enjoyable post as I'm always happy to let dandelions grow on the grass plot paths. I do try to deadhead them before they seed though. Flighty xx

Laura Bloomsbury said...

Lucy, I do love the take that you and your camera have on even the most ordinary. Exquisite works of art captured in detail here - fourth one from the bottom looks like a jelly fish and could belong in your last post
p.s. managed to get my tree up in time for this month ;)

Plant Chaser said...

What fantastic images of the dandelion. Were you able to find all the stages in one day? They are more common in the Northern mountain province. I think the cooler climate suits it more than the full-on tropical heat in the lowlands where I live.
-- Bom / Plant Chaser

Bridget said...

Fantastic post! When one thinks about it the process of flowering to seeding of the Dandelion is quite something...but sometimes we just don't see...

Rowan said...

What fantastic photos! I like dandelions too though not necessarily in my garden:) As a wayside and field flower they are lovely though like little rays of sunshine. I did a post a couple of years ago - maybe too old for a link? Here it is anyway
http://circleoftheyear.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/dandelions.html
I shan't be offended if you don't use it:)

Duxbury Ramblers said...

My tortoise Olly is a dandelion expert :) Seriously though an excellent blog.