Dandelion: The Star of Underappreciated Wildflowers

After the daffodils have had their moment in the spotlight, it’s time for another vibrant yellow wildflower to take centre stage – the dandelion.

This year they seem to be even more abundant than usual with drifts of seeds floating over the garden for days.

With over 250 different species, the dandelion, scientifically known as Taraxacum officinale, is anything but ordinary. One of the most interesting facts about these wildflowers is that you can practically see them everywhere, road verges, fields, parks and our gardens. Some gardeners see dandelions as weeds and remove them, however, these vibrant plants can really make a difference when it comes to increasing biodiversity in the garden!

I love the yellow flowers that follow the sun. Then the silvery ‘clock’ seeds that are a challenge to paint but beautiful to look at.

Sun, Moon and Starts (2025) 80×80cms

Dandelions are ancient plants, believed to have appeared over 30 million years ago.

Their name comes from the French dent de lion because the jagged edged leaves look like teeth. The leaves form rosette and the yellow flowerheads made up of individual flowers called florets, each carrying of pollen and nectar. The distinctive fluffy seed heads can make up to 20,000 seeds which are seen on dry days. On overcast days the whole seedhead closes up.  They bloom from March until October – and are much loved by pollinators!

Another name for dandelions is Sun, Moon and Stats relating to the yellow flowers, silver seed heads and scattering seeds.

The Suns coming out (2025) 80×80cms

What Makes Dandelions Special

There’s a reason why dandelions are scattered around everywhere. When the florets develop into seeds, creating the dandelion clocks seedheads each plant produces over 20,000 seeds that are an exact replica of the parent plant and they use the power of the wind to spread around. Wind and people…  who hasn’t played telling the time with these as a child? Some of us still do!

 Another interesting aspect of dandelions is their relationship with pollinators. As previously mentioned, dandelions continuously flower all throughout the summer, and their abundance of nectar and pollen makes them a hotspot for pollinators such as bees and butterflies. This makes these wildflowers important because they provide food for insects when it's scarce. Since they provide food for pollinators when they need it most, I try not to  remove them from the garden .

To learn more about this wildflower series, check my other blog posts and to see how I have painted them recently there are some on my available work page.

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Buttercups: The Art and Science

Knapweed, Nature’s Resilient Marvel