"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Dave Hill" wrote in message ..

Get out now and pick for dandelion flower wine
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/food/home-ma...ecipes/417523/
If you want the leaves for eating then you should grow them in the
dark, a bucket or something of that ilk placed over them when they are
just starting to grow.
David Hill
______
Totally agree, why waste them? I made some dandelion flower wine (this
is exactly the time to pluck them) I can't say it was my best for taste,
but it was certainly -hic- alcoholic.

Are you going to tell us how to make the wine?

Alan



Tina

Tim Watts
wibbled on Sunday 25 April 2010 21:19

Tim Watts
wibbled on Sunday 25 April 2010 19:30

Field speedwell

I think it's that one.

Very cute - I even ran the mower around them - got a few little patches.


Having said that, I plugged in the data into www.botanicalkeys.co.uk
and haven't got a match, but the flowers look exactly like

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rWksMjEBTQk/Sa...oides-1957.jpg
[Myosotis sicula Guss]

But I think the leaves are slighty hairier than it appears in that picture.

Another suggestion was

http://www.botanicalkeys.co.uk/flora...species.asp?75

Right flower, by my leaves are less hairy than those and longer - about 1cm
wide by 3-5cm long, alternating.

Flower is 8mm or so diameter, 5 petal light blue with white or yellow
centre.

Any ideas?

It's not a speedwell after all - mine has 5 petals, the speedwell has 4.

Cheers

tim
--
Tim Watts

Managers, politicians and environmentalists: Nature's carbon buffer.

In message , Tim Watts
writes
Tim Watts
wibbled on Sunday 25 April 2010 19:30

Field speedwell

I think it's that one.

Very cute - I even ran the mower around them - got a few little patches.

Slender speedwell (Veronica filiformis) has just appeared in flower in
mown grass verges all around this area, so perhaps it's that rather than
common field speedwell (Veronica persica).
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

In message , Tim Watts
writes
Tim Watts
wibbled on Sunday 25 April 2010 21:19

Tim Watts
wibbled on Sunday 25 April 2010 19:30

Field speedwell

I think it's that one.

Very cute - I even ran the mower around them - got a few little patches.


Having said that, I plugged in the data into www.botanicalkeys.co.uk
and haven't got a match, but the flowers look exactly like

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rWksMjEBTQk/Sa...Gr61Zn5McHY/s8
00/leo-mic-Myosotis-scorpioides-1957.jpg
[Myosotis sicula Guss]

But I think the leaves are slighty hairier than it appears in that picture.

Another suggestion was

http://www.botanicalkeys.co.uk/flora...species.asp?75

Right flower, by my leaves are less hairy than those and longer - about 1cm
wide by 3-5cm long, alternating.

Flower is 8mm or so diameter, 5 petal light blue with white or yellow
centre.

Any ideas?

It's not a speedwell after all - mine has 5 petals, the speedwell has 4.

Cheers

tim

OK. Ignore the mention of slender speedwell.

Myosotis scorpioides is one of the aquatic (water marginal)
forget-me-nots. So, it's unlikely that you have this. The flowers of
Myosotis ramoissima are much small (2mm diameter, fide Rose).

At the moment wood (or garden) forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica) is in
flower, and that is the most decorative of the forget-me-nots. But I
wouldn't expect that to survive in a lawn.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Stewart Robert Hinsley
wibbled on Sunday 25 April 2010 23:08

In message , Tim Watts
writes
Tim Watts
wibbled on Sunday 25 April 2010 21:19

Tim Watts
wibbled on Sunday 25 April 2010 19:30

Field speedwell

I think it's that one.

Very cute - I even ran the mower around them - got a few little patches.


Having said that, I plugged in the data into www.botanicalkeys.co.uk
and haven't got a match, but the flowers look exactly like

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rWksMjEBTQk/Sa...Gr61Zn5McHY/s8
00/leo-mic-Myosotis-scorpioides-1957.jpg
[Myosotis sicula Guss]

But I think the leaves are slighty hairier than it appears in that
picture.

Another suggestion was

http://www.botanicalkeys.co.uk/flora...species.asp?75

Right flower, by my leaves are less hairy than those and longer - about
1cm wide by 3-5cm long, alternating.

Flower is 8mm or so diameter, 5 petal light blue with white or yellow
centre.

Any ideas?

It's not a speedwell after all - mine has 5 petals, the speedwell has 4.

Cheers

tim

OK. Ignore the mention of slender speedwell.

Myosotis scorpioides is one of the aquatic (water marginal)
forget-me-nots. So, it's unlikely that you have this. The flowers of
Myosotis ramoissima are much small (2mm diameter, fide Rose).

At the moment wood (or garden) forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica) is in
flower, and that is the most decorative of the forget-me-nots. But I
wouldn't expect that to survive in a lawn.

I think it's the last one. The flowers are an exact match and the leaves
look right (and hairy with hairy stalks).

Thanks for that!

--
Tim Watts

Managers, politicians and environmentalists: Nature's carbon buffer.

andy wrote:
Lots of dandelions this year ( in South East ) especially in lawns -
harsh Winter didn't affect them .......
What's best to treat etc ?

12" screwdriver down the side and lever them out root and all. The tool
is better then the official dandelion grubber and useful for opening
tins of paint too. Practice makes perfect and you can usually get 8-10"
of root with it. It is very satisfying and chemical free.

Otherwise spot weed with verdone or equivalent broad leaf specific
herbicide.

Regards,
Martin Brown

On Sat, 24 Apr 2010 13:33:27 +0100, andy wrote:

Lots of dandelions this year ( in South East ) especially in lawns -
harsh Winter didn't affect them .......
What's best to treat etc ?

Thanks for all replies - it seems the no sooner I pull em all up they
start coming up elsewhere ......... doesn't help that neighbour seldom
cuts his lawn which is full of them . Either that or those pesky
fairies again ;-)

"alan.holmes" wrote in message
...

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Dave Hill" wrote in message ..

Get out now and pick for dandelion flower wine
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/food/home-ma...ecipes/417523/
If you want the leaves for eating then you should grow them in the
dark, a bucket or something of that ilk placed over them when they are
just starting to grow.
David Hill
______
Totally agree, why waste them? I made some dandelion flower wine (this
is exactly the time to pluck them) I can't say it was my best for taste,
but it was certainly -hic- alcoholic.

Are you going to tell us how to make the wine?


No, in case you fall over like I did when having one too many glasses of my
parsnip wine. First time I made it, had four glasses, it was so nice and
seemed innocuous. Not so ;-)
Of my homemade wines, parsnip is the best, closely followed by elderberry or
blackberry. Carrot wine is good too.
Many years ago my husband and I were persuaded to have some carrot wine when
we were visiting a friend. We only intended to pop in but by the time we
got home the joint we had in the oven was a cinder..
Tina

"Bill Grey" wrote in message
...

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
--

No weedkiller has touched my land for 25 years.

She should have gone to Specsavers :-)

Bill

Eh?

On Sat, 24 Apr 2010 13:33:27 +0100, andy wrote:

Lots of dandelions this year ( in South East ) especially in lawns -
harsh Winter didn't affect them .......
What's best to treat etc ?

Mow frequently
A patch by our local council offices was a beautiful mass of yellow
and mauve crocus not long ago. Now it's a mass of yellow dandelions.
Yes there do seem a lot this year. Live and let live!

Pam in Bristol

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Bill Grey" wrote in message
...

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
--

No weedkiller has touched my land for 25 years.

She should have gone to Specsavers :-)

Bill

Eh?



She missed the dandelions you see :-) Think laterally.

Christina Websell wrote:

Of my homemade wines, parsnip is the best, closely followed by elderberry or
blackberry. Carrot wine is good too.

My best effort was blackberry and elderberry, which was a tad bland when
it had finished working, so I added some sloes.

I commend it to the group.

--
Rusty

On Apr 25, 7:34*pm, Rusty Hinge
wrote:
aquachimp wrote:
Is dandelion wine a laxative?

No. Why?


As mentioned earlier, diuretic was the word I had meant to use;
Applying the same question as to why I might want to know if
dandelions retain their diuretic influence when converted to wine,
well I just wondered. I'm curious about such matters and then some, eg
does the wine making properties change a product, as in alter its
properties (in this case dandelion) so much?

In message
,
aquachimp wrote
On Apr 25, 7:34*pm, Rusty Hinge
wrote:
aquachimp wrote:
Is dandelion wine a laxative?

No. Why?


As mentioned earlier, diuretic was the word I had meant to use;

Alcohol is a diuretic
--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On May 2, 8:29*pm, Alan wrote:
In message
,
aquachimp wrote

On Apr 25, 7:34*pm, Rusty Hinge
wrote:
aquachimp wrote:
Is dandelion wine a laxative?

No. Why?

As mentioned earlier, diuretic was the word I had meant to use;

Alcohol is a diuretic
--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Hmm; I wouldn't be in a position to know that seeing as I never did
manage to develop much of a taste or tolerance for the stuff.