Dandelions, love them or hate them, are blooming in abundance all over the UK this spring. As an ecologist who studies the insects which visit these flowers, so redolent of sunshine, I have never been able to understand why anyone might hate them.
Why do some people despair when they see a dandelion poking through the grass in their garden, or through the concrete on their drive? Most see dandelions as “weeds”: they don’t want them around their house and will reach for the lawnmower, or worse still, a can of weed killer, when one dares to rear its yellow head.
