Dandelions are suddenly everywhere – a sure sign that spring has finally sprung – although some Scottish readers may, ‘hae yer doots’, after hail and snow fell in north Aberdeenshire on 25 April! Despite this, the bright yellow dandelion flowers can now be seen on roadside verges everywhere. They are wild plants and look best in slightly unkempt settings which are great for biodiversity, but they also love lawns too!

*Dandelions growing in an uncut path-side verge*

Yellow gorse also grows widely across the UK, mainly on land unsuitable for farming. It was once sometimes used as a hedging plant too, due to its dense habit and sharp thorns. Unlike herbaceous dandelions, it is an evergreen bush, so a permanent feature of the landscape. It is a fully hardy plant and in the warm microclimate of the north Morayshire coast, it flowers all year round. It is an odd but wonderful sight to see a few bright yellow flowers poking out of a snowy mound in the depths of winter!

*Local gorse flowering through winter months*

But now, with springtime well underway (in terms of the calendar at least), the gorse bushes are covered in flowers, adding cheerful yellow textures to the landscape. For gardeners who don’t want a prickly gorse bush in their garden, Broom is an alternative (colour without thorns). It too is an indigenous plant and grows wild in many places. Broom is also beginning to show its bright yellow flowers in great splashes of colour. Yellow is indeed the colour of Springtime.

These days, roadside verges are mostly left uncut, sometimes even in urban locations. This is great for insects and butterflies and for nesting birds too, that regard the hedgerows as home. It is easy to forget how important these sinuous green corridors are. They interconnect the natural spaces across the UK. This is fantastic for all biodiversity, including the wild plants, flowers and grasses that grow there, that support the insect population. How nice to see so many hedgerows being replanted. While spring warmth really has been in short supply for most of us so far this year, it is good to finally see bumble bees and honey bees as well as some butterflies out foraging amongst the flowers. Gorse, Broom, Dandelions, nettles and many other wildflowers are a vital source of food and shelter for these creatures. We all benefit from this too.

*Photo of a Peacock Butterfly enjoying the warmer environment inside a garden centre polytunnel feeding on Skimia japonica flowers*

The ability of wild plants to cope with the huge variety of circumstances in which they find themselves, is intriguing. Their survival strategies are not always obvious, but dandelions reveal how their genetic programming gives them the ability to respond in some measure to specific circumstances. Without any central nervous system, it is all down to plant chemistry. Essentially, the successful plant pushes its flowerhead up into the warm sunshine, just above the surrounding vegetation where it can be seen and easily accessed by passing insects. From observation, it seems the plant is hard-wired to always grow just enough to achieve this optimum position - one that will also allow the best chance for its mature seeds to be picked up by the slightest wind. And their design is amazing too, allowing them to float on indiscernible rising air currents, to spread as far as possible. Just like most lifeforms, the key driver is reproduction! On freshly mown verges and lawns, dandelions generally grow just a few centimetres above the cut surface. But in areas where the surrounding plants are not cut or the area is slightly shaded, dandelions may be many times taller than their cut-grass-growing cousins. This height discrepancy can be seen where these two microclimates exist side-by-side – perhaps on either side of a footpath. Dandelions will easily grow to 40cm or more in there efforts to out-compete their neighbours and lift their seeds to the optimum positions. The tallest dandelion I have seen was over 1m in height!

*Colts Foot growing on the banks of the River Thames*

A plant with a similar flower to the dandelion is ‘Colts Foot’. This is perhaps less common but can still be found growing now in a wide variety of locations, from arable land to waste land. It is regarded as a weed by many and I did spot quite a few recently, scattered amongst the flower beds of the walled garden at Gordons Castle in Aberdeenshire. It is a plant known for its many medicinal properties and was once widely used by monks and ‘wise women’ for treating a wide range of common ailments. Maybe the plants I noticed are the descendants of plants grown locally for medicinal purposes long ago - perhaps in an apothecary garden. This is a nice thought.

There are many cultivated garden plants that also add great splashes of yellow springtime colour (apart from the ubiquitous drifts of daffodils and tulips). Forsythia and Kerria are 2 garden favourites. Both of these tall woody shrubs can be found in SeeHow. They are fully hardy and can be seen growing in gardens throughout the UK and across northern Europe too. Although springtime is the true flowering season for Kerria, they will often keep producing some flowers right through to November … a colourful and cheerful contribution to any garden for 6 months or more.

After flowering, dandelions produce their delicate seed heads on erect stems, all waiting for just the right amount of wind to shake them loose from their ‘moorings’. The parachute shape seeds rise quickly in great clouds, to drift off to pastures new – wherever the wind takes them. It is all down to chance. Many will perish, but some will take root, often in the most unlikely locations and will go on to repeat the cycle all over again the following year.

If you find a perfect seedhead, take a big breath, close your eyes and blow … and while you do, make a wish. It is sure to come true!

The above Text and all Photographs are copyright of Wincenty (Wicek) Sosna. Please contact SeeHow for permission to reproduce in any way, in part or as the complete text.

Spring Has Sprung

Hedges

Happy Garden Planning!