Dandelions

[CrapBucket]

I live in a new build with a strip of grass at the side of my house by the road. It’s completely free of dandelions but i know they are important for wildlife. If I leave it will they appear in their own time or could/should I pop down the road to the older houses and pick some dandelion clocks to scatter about?

They will come to you soon enough!

Aw this is a surprisingly heartening post. I thought you were going to ask how to get rid of them from your pristine lawn!

It can't hurt to collect and scatter some clocks. Thank you for helping nature OP

Dandelions are weeds. They spread like mad and have deep roots that go all the way to Australia.
There are a billion other flowers that are blooming right now that you could choose. Why dandelions, for goodness sake!?

They are beautiful and great food for bumblebees early in the spring 🐝

I'll send my daughter round. She loves blowing the clocks on my lawn.

I repeat: there are a billion other flowers that are blooming right now that the blooming bumblebees can have.

Have the dandelions got a PR agency in or something?

I have also sprinkled some wild flower mixture around - it’s not somewhere I want to actually look after tbh, just a strip of grass that could be more useful for wildlife. But I am completely open to suggestions for what I can do for free and v low effort as well as dandelions.

Dandelions are lovely. As are daisies. They'll come of their own accord. Wildflower mixes usually struggle to compete with grass, so you're likely wasting your time sprinkling those seeds.

Weeds are in the eye of the beholder!

Weeds are in the eye of the beholder!
Weeds are plants that are where you don't want them. Nobody wants dandelions ergo they are weeds. Even bees don't really want them; they want flowers in the purple/blue spectrum.

Suggestions at this time of year are: Bluebell (native, not Spanish!), Bugle, Crab apple, Crocus, Flowering cherry and currant, Forget-me-not, Hawthorn, Primrose, Pulmonaria, Rhododendron and Rosemary. (thanks to GW for the list).

Dandelions grow in poor soil, tso if there aren't any there yet the soil is probably OK.

If you sow wildflowers then that patch still needs mowing in March and October and the leftover stems composted otherwise they enrich the soil which means the grass takes over.

Speak for yourself

I love dandelions

I would perhaps plant some bulbs such as crocuses, daffodils, and tulip so they brighten up the front of the house but don't need much looking after and provide early nectar and pollen.

With the exception of lungwort and bugle, all those others will be of no use whatsoever to this year's bees due to the length of time they would take to get to flowering, especially from seed/bulb. Oh, and Rhododendrons are invasive tries to shake memories of attempting to clear native woodland of the bastarding things when we're not considering that there is a distinct chance that the green strip will be mowed over very quickly or sprayed with weedkiller the moment something starts growing, that is.

They do really like Green Alkanet, thyme and borage, though. And dandelions, along with other composite flowers. Dandelions are actually the main food source for emerging bumblebee queens in spring. They're also rather fond of foxgloves (biennial), nepeta (but cats will batter it), mallow, teasel (biennial), and clover.

Dandelions are actually the main food source for emerging bumblebee queens in spring. They're also rather fond of foxgloves (biennial), nepeta (but cats will batter it), mallow, teasel (biennial), and clover.

My tree mallow is positively humming with bumblebees each summer, it is my favourite plant to sit and watch the busy bees. They do also love the foxgloves & borage, I had teasel for the first time last year & I have some whoppers growing this year.

The bees have been throughly enjoying the many, many dandelions in my lawn this year & when the clover come out they love that too.

OP there is a thread about low flowering laws, I will go and find a link.

some suggestions here if it’s a patch you don’t want to be mowing. I have self-heal at the front that the bees seem to quite like, I’ve never seen them on my birdsfoot trefoil but they are supposed to love it.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/gardening/4788091-low-growing-lawn-flowers?reply=125609493

You're welcome to ours, we're pulling them out of the lawn every day at the moment!

Nobody wants dandelions ergo they are weeds This thread demonstrates the falsity of that statement, so your argument falls

Yes, I love dandelions too.

I recommend this book for those who want to stop battling some of the weeds aka wildflowers in our environment.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-about-Weeds-Garden-Design/dp/1786275309

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/25/chelsea-flower-show-gardens-rebrand-weeds-hero-plants

Yes, at last we're moving away from the manicured garden trends of old into something more sustainable and wildlife friendly. I'm looking forward to seeing these gardens at Chelsea this year. I hope this movement continues with some force.

I did wonder which side of the argument you would fall on!

"Chelsea Flower Show Gardens to rebrand weeds as 'hero' plants."
I told you that they had got a PR Agency in!

This dandelion-love is all very well but YOUR seeds become MY weeds. Can't everyone chose something else to champion, please? There are plenty of dandelion in the wild, we don't need them cultivated in gardens, too.
I have no problem with most native plants - I have bugle, comfrey, cowslips, deadnettle, forget-me-not, foxgloves, green alkanet, ground ivy, herb robert, mallow, primrose, speedwell - I just don't want dandelion. Nor cat's ear.

"There are plenty of dandelion in the wild, we don't need them cultivated in gardens* but not necessarily the same species -there are over 230 species in the UK.

Besides the OP was talking about cultivating them on road verges, was she not?

YOUR seeds become MY weeds Yes, because they're YOUR weeds, not necessarily anybody else's. I'm far more bothered by Alchemilla mollis and Symphoricarpus albus

Besides the OP was talking about cultivating them on road verges, was she not?
It's only a matter of time before they blow from the verge into her garden (and the neighbours'). Then she will wonder why she wasn't more careful what she wished for.

Ha, you can't control nature! Wind blown seeds will be wind blown seeds.

You can't like every flower, though, so fair enough. I'm sure the dandelions will win the battle anyway!