At dusk walking across the meadow the dandelion clocks caught the last light and shimmered like stars against the backdrop of shadowed grasses. The dandelion clock represents childhood moments blowing them to tell the time, and being told that you would wet the bed if you picked them. Their beauty became more apparent with my aging and I could see the cycle of life represented in this silvery collection of seed puffs that would gently float in the breeze starting a new life in another pasture.
To me the Dandelion represents many things, earthly and spiritual. It represents the sun when in golden flower and the moon as its silver seed puffs bob amongst the grasses before the breeze encourages them to take flight.
From an artists point of view the Dandelion Clock is a blessing, it lends itself to simple mediums that results in a beauty that does not require tortured hours to craft. Its simplicity belies its complexity in its ability to nurture us physically and mentally.
More about the Dandelion......
The dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale) is a member of the Asteraceae family. The whole plant is edible and has a wide selection of herbal uses.
These include the dandelion root it can be used for cleansing along with cleavers, a common sticky plant found in our hedgerows (Worwood, 1991) . The dandelion leaf promotes healthy lipid profiles and liver detoxification (Indigo Herbs, 2023).
Etymology
The English name, dandelion, is a corruption of the French dent de lion meaning "lion's tooth", referring to the coarsely toothed leaves. The plant is also known as blowball, cankerwort, doon-head-clock, witch's gowan, milk witch, lion's-tooth, yellow-gowan, Irish daisy, monks-head, priest's-crown, and puff-ball; other common names include faceclock, pee-a-bed, wet-a-bed, swine's snout, white endive, and wild endive.
The English folk name "piss-a-bed" (and indeed the equivalent contemporary French pissenlit) refers to the strong diuretic effect of the plant's roots. In various northeastern Italian dialects, the plant is known as pisacan ("dog pisses"), because they are found at the side of pavement. In Swedish, it is called maskros (worm rose) after the nymphs of small insects (thrips larvae) usually present in the flowers. (Wikipaedia 2023)
Resource List
Bradley. A., & Jamieson. K. (1978) Dandelion Clocks: Stories of Childhood. Michael Joseph Ltd: London
McCauley. C. (2018) Harvesting And Using Dandelions: For Everything From Medicine To Lotions. Independent: New England
Seleshanko. K. (2018) The Ultimate Dandelion Medicine Book: 40 Recipes for Using Dandelion Leaves, Flowers, Stems & Roots as Medicine. Independent: USA
Worwood. V.A. (1981) The Fragrant Pharmacy Bantam: London.
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