Honey bees and children love the lowly dandelions. The wise honey bees eagerly work the succulent spring blooms. They choose the healthiest, most advantageous flora for the most nutrition and benefit after an exhausting winter. The dandelion is high on their list. We humans should take heed and learn.
It is amazing that humans spend money on toxic poisons to rid their lawns of these pretty yellow flowers. Then they spend more money at the health food store buying supplements that would have been available free from the dandelions they have eradicated. Who decided that the dandelion was a useless weed? Was it because it grows so easily it could not be exploited for profit?
Thankfully, the honey bees ignore human “intelligence” and include the nectar and pollen from the dandelion as a top choice for their spring time collections. This makes for very healthy honey and a healthy bee colony.
Consider gathering the dandelions in your area (unsprayed areas, of course) for better health. Dandelion tea is so good with a bit of raw honey and so good for you. Our ancestors made wine and/or syrup made with lemon and raw honey from the various parts of the plant to enjoy the benefits of the dandelion all year long. Chop new leaves, new stems and flowers into salads, over cheese, on toast or with vegetables…very eye appealing and healthy. Add fresh dandelion into smoothies for a health boost. Or, dry the various parts, store and use all year.
Heidi at Candle Bee Farm eats about 10 fresh dandelion stems per day for as long as the yellow flowers grace the farm every year. She also munches a few flowers each day. The younger, new growth parts contain the most health benefits and don’t taste bitter. Even older plants add a nice flavoring to salads and greens. Children proudly enjoy eating salads and vegetables for which they have contributed fresh picked flowers from the yard.
It has been said that the dandelion is good for the liver, gallbladder, spleen and stimulates the flow of gastric juices. It has been used as a blood purifier (“Spring Tonic”), for glandular health, a diuretic and even gout and rheumatism. The blood purification effect is also credited with helping acne issues.
Bee happy these wonderful plants are readily available to serve mankind. Perhaps, one day, we will see the beautiful blankets of yellow flowers in the fields with the same appreciation as the wise honey bees.
Candle Bee Farm | Nature Tails | It's a Lifestyle 