Passive resistance triumphs

When I see their yellow heads popping all over the yard, I know that winter finally loosened its grip and spring is around the corner. I also know that it is time to mow the lawn and begin my endless power struggle with these small, seemingly fragile flowers the dandelions.

Dandelions are not the enemy; I am rather fond of them. Their shiny yellow heads light up the yard that for months was devoid of any color. I enjoy seeing them turn into round spheres of white feathery bulbs and have fond childhood memories of blowing on them, causing the white, seeds carrying parachutes to fly in the air and tell me if my secret love will be receptive.

I am well aware of their many exemplary medicinal qualities, an endless list of ailments they are credited with the ability to cure; the health benefits of dandelions include relief from liver disorders, diabetes, urinary disorders, acne, jaundice, cancer, and anemia. They also help in maintaining bone health, skin care and are a benefit to weight loss programs.  So these modest looking plants are almost too good to be true.

But when spring bursts in my lawn with it the yellow invasion I know I need to act fast.

I pull out my John Deer lawn mower and start the tedious task of mowing our motel’s 5 acres grassy lawn. Back and forth I ride for hours, and while quietly apologizing in my heart, I mow over the carpets of dandelions. I feel sorry having to cut them, but true to the meaning of their original French name - Dent de Lion – Teeth of the Lion, they fight right back.

They are using the well-known tactic of passive resistance which means that as I approach a cluster of flowers with my ominous mower they bend their heads in resignations and I credit myself with a quick win. But this lasts for a very short time, a minute later when I look back; here they are standing erect moving slightly in the breeze smiling at me with their shiny yellow smile.

I turn and go over them again; now I am mad and full of boiling energy; I am going to get these small sneering conceited flowers once and for all. This time around they continue to bend low to the ground, and off I go feeling less than victorious, somehow I know this is not the end.

The next morning when I look outside the lawn is white, and for a second I wonder if the winter returned overnight but a close look reveals hundreds of whiteheads on slender stems swaying in the fresh morning breath, and I know I lost, it is too late. 

Mowing over them will cause them to spread the seeds all over my lawn and start a new generation of smiling innocent looking dandelions. Ignoring them will make my yard look like a neglected field. No win here.

Some days I wonder if it will be smarter to leave them be, let them grow and multiply without disturbance. After all, what is so wrong with a green lawn dotted with yellow flowers? I will tell my guests that this is our new approach to landscaping and offer them to pick some of the Dandelions and take home with them as a remedy for all future aches.