The Dandelion Lawn.

I openly admit to being a real lover of flowers. Over the years I have had comments made to me when I point out a particular flower while out walking or running.

"Are flowers not a female thing?".

My usual report to such a question is that there are in fact male and female flowers, or the flowers you are looking at contain everything needed to reproduce. 

At the present moment the byways are full of snowdrops and crocus. The first of the Celandines are to be seen and daffodils are already showing their faces. 

Strangely even though I have this love of flowers I seldom paint them. Probably because people who want to have a floral painting want it to be accurate and perfect, whereas my art try to catch the mood and the feeling flowers inspire.

In the last week I have turned over my little garden plot and planted some potatoes and onions and a few fruit bushes. I have given my three lawns their first cut and tidied up all the borders. Painted the garden wall making it one consistent colour. 

I have cleaned out the flowers that are growing where they should not be, more of that in a second.

The thought that all of this brings to mind is the tale of the gardner.

A man who took great pride in his lawn found himself with a large crop of dandelions. 

He tried every method he knew to get rid of them. Still they plagued him.

He managed to get a question answered on the radio programme, "Gardeners  World.'

All to no avail the dandelions still popped up and smiled at him from his lawn.

Finally he wrote to the Department of Agriculture. He enumerated all the things he had tried and closed his letter with the question: "What shall I do now?"

In due course, the reply came: "We suggest you learn to love them."

What is a weed? it is just a flower growing in the wrong place. Yes I know when we were young we had this idea that picking dandelions made you wet the bed. I will not repeat what we called them. 

The next time you see one, and it will be soon, take a good look at it. They really are a thing of great beauty. 

There are things and people who are not easy to love but with a little effort we can see the beauty in them also.