{"id":17110,"title":"How to promote biodiversity.","description":"Perhaps if more people knew the value & benefits of dandelion they\u2019d stop spraying chemicals, pulling as weeds & cutting them unnecessarily.","content":"

Spring is here!<\/p>

Birdsong fills the air. Sprouts emerge from their winter slumber. Trees start to bud. Flowers emerge & bees begin to buzz.\u00a0<\/p>

It\u2019s a beautiful time.<\/p>


One simple tip to promote biodiversity on our planet, let the wild things grow<\/em>.<\/p>

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Did you know?<\/h3>

Dandelion is a meadow herb of the Asteraceae or sunflower family.
Maybe you\u2019ve been brand-washed by chemical commercials into thinking a dandelion is a weed? It\u2019s not. It\u2019s one of the first food sources for insects in the spring.<\/p>

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Dandelion<\/strong> (Taraxacum officinale)<\/em><\/p>

\u201cA perennial herb native to Europe and Euresia and naturalized through Australia. Bright yellow flowers grow out of single stems above a basil rosette of narrow deeply lobed leaves often with a jagged or tooth like appearance. The seed heads contain hundreds of individual seeds, each with its own pappus to aid wind dispersal. The plant is found growing anywhere from lawns to river banks and thrives in cool temperate regions. Different parts of the dandelion can be used for anything from soup to wine. Unfortunately this particular specimen has been visited regularly by neighbourhood dogs.\u201d - Michael Pederson

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