Dandelion Fluff Fairy Garlands

Looking for a fun nature craft to do with the kids this spring?(Or maybe you just want to do it for yourself!)

Give Dandelion Fluff Fairy Garlands a go!

They are made with the seed heads of dandelions, which is something we have in abundance right about now!

Head outside and look for unopened seed heads. You’ll want to pick them when the flower has died and dropped it’s yellow petals, but cypsela has not yet opened to release the seed. Gather up a bunch!

Thread a needle onto a long piece of heavy thread or twine, and push the needle through the base of each seed bud.

Pull the first through to the end of the thread, and repeat until you have a seed bud strung every few inches for the entire length of thread. (If you want to minimize the chance of tangles, work with shorter thread segments and simply tie together to form a longer garland.)

Once you have strung all your seed heads and are happy with the spacing and the length, hang the garland in a window and let the sun and nature do their trick.

Over the next several days, the buds will begin to open and become magical fairy-like little round tuffs of fluff.

Did you know? A dandelion seed is the plant's mature fruit, known as a CYPSELA to botanists, and its parachute-like structure is known as a PAPPUS.

Surprisingly, the seeds heads are NOT as fragile as one might imagine, and the friend that tried this reports that over the several weeks the garland graced her window, not a single pappus was shed.

If you try it, let me know how it turns out!

Dandelion Jelly (Sunshine in a Jar!)

A few weeks ago I shared a post about dandelions to my Facebook page - It garnered over one thousand comments! Many of them were about dandelion jelly. I was intrigued.

I looked up a few recipes and sought the professional services of one of the top dandelion pickers in the country, (my almost three-year-old granddaughter, Rosalie,) to gather the necessary ingredients. Dandelion heads, lots of them.

Rosalie acquired her picking skills very early on and knew, by some deep intuition, that stems were absolutely unnecessary to the task, because she’s never bothered with them. It’s the big beautiful yellow bloom that we’re after, and wow, did she deliver!

If you have no interest what-so-ever in dandelion jelly, you’ll still delight in the photographs my daughter Shaylah took of her pretty little dandy plucker. They make my heart melt.

But if you ARE interested in how to make dandelion jelly, or as i like to call it, Sunshine in a Jar, read on:

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Bowl of Dandelion Heads

• 4 cups Boiling Water

• 4 cups Granulated Sugar

• 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

• 1 packet Fruit Pectin

• Steril Jelly Jars, Lids & Rings

• Water-Bath Canner (and all supplies necessary to making jams and jellies: funnel, ladle, jar lifter, etc.)

Instructions:

1. Pick a good sized bowl of clean, fresh, dandelion heads - no stems needed. (Make sure these are from an area free of herbicides, pesticides, animal droppings, and auto exhaust.)

2. Next, cut or pinch off the bottom of the flower - the green bit that holds the petals together - until you have two heaping cups of dandelion petals.

3. Place in a jar and pour 4 cups of boiling water over the petals.

4. Let cool then put a lid on the jar and place in refrigerator over night.

5. The following day, strain the dandelion tea from the petals, squeezing out all the liquid possible. Place the liquid in a stock pot on the stove, and dispose of the petals.

6. Add the lemon juice and packet of fruit pectin to the tea and bring to a boil.

7. Next, add the 4 cups of sugar to the mixture and bring to a boil again, boiling 1-2 minutes.

8. Using a funnel. ladle the hot mixture into clean, sterile canning jars, place clean, sterile lids and rings on them, and tighten to just finger tight.

9. Place in a water bath canner and process 10 minutes.

10. Remove from water bath and place on kitchen towel. letting rest and set for the next 24 hours.

Keep and enjoy some for yourself and distribute the rest as springtime gifts to family and friends.

Everyone will love a little bit of sunshine in a jar!

It tastes a lot like honey with a hint of citrus, and is great on toast, english muffins, or scones!

And it’s sooooo much fun to make with little ones!

Special thanks to Rosalie for her pro picking skills, to Shaylah for the beautiful photographs, and to baby Alice, for cooperating long enough for her mama and big sister to complete the job!