I love the silver spheres of dandelion seed heads, the magical globes of "wishes" ready to be blown away on a hopeful breath. On local walking paths and ecologically friendly herbicide-free lawns and sports fields the shaggy golden crowns have flourished and have given way now to seed heads that catch the setting sun and glow like lamps in the early evening hours.
It is a mixed blessing, leaving nature alone. If natural and beautiful the dandelions are also invasive and I have spent some hours on my knees uprooting the shaggy darlings from my flower beds. I usually find, on brushing my knees and finishing up, that some healthy specimens have escaped the purge. Sometimes I'll put them in a jar, to paint. But in their proper place, among tall grasses and buttercups, they surely must be sign posts to the fairies' meeting places.Acorn Moon's beautiful post about buttercups sent me hunting through my bookshelves for a long-remembered image from "Faberge, Jeweler to Royalty", the Spray of Buttercups.
("...in gold enameled translucent yellow and green over engraved grounds, and cornflowers enameled translucent blue with diamond centers, with green gold stalks and leaves in a rock crystal jar. A diamond, ruby and black-enameled bee in red gold is poised on one of the buttercups. " Height 9 inches. From the collection of H.M. Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother).I know that somewhere I have seen a photo of a Faberge dandelion too, but it is not in this book nor in any other I have here, which is a mystery. As I recall it had little diamonds clustered at the centre or accenting individual seeds. Perhaps it is time to find a dandelion puff and make a wish to find the lovely thing again.
(If it is fern seed that confers invisibility on fairy folk perhaps the airborne feathery dandelion seed boosts levitation?)
Best fairy wishes to all, whatever your heart's desire may be.
