The Dandelion in all it's glory Photo by Gary Rice

I'll be the first one to admit it. I'm no gardener. Too many allergies interfered with those "magic outdoor moments" that everyone else seemed to have during their childhood years.

I did take Horticulture in high school. I even tried to raise orchids for awhile. Having no sense of smell, I could not, for the life of me, figure out why the family had trouble with the fish emulsion fertilizer that I used to grow them with. In addition, at night my orchids needed to be in a completely dark environment. The least little streams of light and no blooms would come forth! Before long, those orchids went the way of so many other diversions of the past, as did my interest in cultivating green things.

For me, if I had my druthers, a green concrete lawn would probably be the way to go. An ongoing annual battle transpired as to whether we would plant tomatoes or not in the back yard. I offered to BUY all the tomatoes the family would EVER need, so long as I did not have to go out and dig up the yard and plant and care for those little red baseballs. Even these days, my one neighbor puts out great tomato plants, and every year, partly eaten tomatoes, consumed by hungry squirrels and other animals, grace our lawn.

By the way, as we've seen with Lakewood's recent ice storm, the trees on our lawns need our attention as well; particularly if they are larger, older trees. All too often, insects, animals, fungus, and moisture can help to ruin those trees from the inside out. Be sure to have a qualified expert examine your large trees, in order to avoid serious property damage later. A few years ago, we sadly took out our large potentially dangerous trees before they could fall on our house and garage. This type of experience can also present you with an opportunity to replant with new trees.

Anyway, within the bounds of reason, I did, and I do, make an effort to keep our yard neat, while keeping the outdoor maintenance time to a minimum. The flower beds are planted with perennials, and a well-kept lawn mower keeps my time in the yard down... compared to a few of my nearby neighbors.

Now these neighbors are certainly people worthy of admiration. Their lawns, er, gardens, exhibit some of the most beautiful plants I have ever seen. Veritable color-wheels of tapestries wash across their mini-estates throughout Lakewood's growing season. I might add that their properties would rival the Rose Garden of the White House, in side-by-side comparisons.

There is, however one flowering plant that I believe these neighbors utterly despise with a PASSION!

That, being the dandelion.

Every spring, some of these people are out on their lawns, apparently putting down all manner of treatments and fertilizers, in order to have their ultra-green lawns become even greener. Mixed into a few of those concoctions, are probably some substances developed to putting an end to the dandelions of the world.

The only thing is, before very long, those little yellow flowers start popping up just about everywhere; sometimes even on those neighbors' own pristine patches of Lakewood perfection.

And here, dear reader, is where my tale really begins.

Feeling a bit guilty one day, a few years ago, I decided to apply some weed-control stuff to my own lawn. Much to my chagrin, about half my lawn died off! The dandelions, however, were indeed history (at least temporarily). I put down the new grass seed and waited.

This might have been the end of the story, except for something that happened. When my dear late mom found out about her yard suddenly becoming a glorified dirt lot, she was filled with sadness. When I told her that at least the dandelions would be gone, she turned to me with an expression of great wisdom.

"Gary," she said, "those are Mothers' flowers. Those are the first flowers that a little child picks for their mother." She went on to say that they were the first flowers of spring, and the last to leave us in the fall.

I will admit that in the broad scheme of things, I probably will not find a great deal of sympathy among some of you for the humble dandelion. Nor do I particularly expect to, in this topsy-turvy, value-conflicted society of ours.

Still, I will never ever forget the words of my mother, regarding those beautiful little flowers, so maligned and despised by so many in this world.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly have plenty of appreciation for the dedicated gardeners of this world. They do have beautiful lawns, flowers, and gardens.

To me however, the little dandelion remains the most beautiful flower of all in the pulse of our city.