With spring on its way, I start to look forward with excitement for the first plants to appear in my neighborhood. On my regular (but solitary, given social distancing) walks through my garden gate and into Massey Park, the snows have gone, the grass is greening, and the migratory waterfowl and songbirds are out in abundance.
I’ll be looking for dandelions, but they’re not up yet. Give it another week or so and we’ll start to see a lot of changes. The pretty yellow flowers will appear here and there, almost by surprise, and I’ll be picking couple of handfuls of these flowers where no killer sprays have been used.
The flowers are edible, medicinal, and bursting with Vitamin C. Peel away the tendrils under the flowers and wash in cold water. Dip them in a runny pancake batter and fry in oil for 3 minutes. Eat as appetizers or as toppers on a dandelion salad of freshly picked leaves. They’ll be the first fresh treats of the season!
