There is wisdom in the plants who continue to live despite it all. I'm talking about Weeds; drawing up rich resources from the depths of the earth in the most depleted corners of the city, finding something from nothing and creating magic. Sound familiar?
Through the cracks and the most impossible places, Dandelion's hooked leaves, tender red stems and bright yellow flowers, unmistakably persist regardless of our spraying and digging. And why?
The very word 'weeding' really to us means DEweeding. To 'weed' is to get rid. What does this say about us and weeds? That our best way to engage with that we do-not-believe-will-enrich-us in westernised capitalist culture is to attempt disposal, or at the least, to sideline? But it's clear that this belief that weeds lack enrichment is not the case. Many weeds, such as dandelion, hold more nutrients than any vegetable and much healing can be done from consuming it. This knowledge has been ever present in countless Indigenous cultures. But can the rest of us catch on to this wisdom and start to love and cherish what is so often ignored at the street corners?
Dandelion's bright yellow colouring is surely no mistake, unmissable against the grey of concrete tiles or the green of a lawn, and it continues to grow, no matter what we do. There is something inherently Queer here, as with weeds, despite it all, our Queerness persists. What might happen if we start to celebrate our weeds, to love them as hard as we love our community, our chosen family and those who nourish us? What might happen if we begin to tend to all those ignored at street corners?
Well, those who might have noticed Dandelion might have found that the whole plant 'tends' to dis-ease endlessly. I believe that it's tea, it's juice, it's root coffee, it's flower honey, it's whole self is trying to tell (or perhaps show) us something. I think it is answering a call that perhaps many of us did not know we were making; our call from the city scape and the modern western world, our call to nourish our bodies and to heal our chronic illnesses, our cancers, our fatigue, our sicknesses that capitalism is spawning. What can be more Queer than that? Not Queer as in gay, but Queer as in tearing down health inaccessibility, Queer as in dissolving capitalism, Queer as in noticing what's there and letting it deeply nourish us.
As with Queerness, Dandelion consumption hits different with everyone, depending on your body; it's genetic makeup, it's environmental relationships. Some people are
allergic, so handle with care at first and do some research. Don't eat Dandelion from places where (de)weeding has been attempted with harmful chemicals. Take your
time, if you have it, to form relationships with those so often ignored. Lets see what magic can happen.
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Written By
Billie Turner
Billie is deeply rooted in community strengthening projects and is committed to helping create small villages within city life, commoning the land and mutual aid practices. They love to facilitate spaces for positive transformation and are addicted to pushing themselves to do things outside of their comfort zone, in public. Their therapy of choice is Somatic and their allotment overlooking the sea just a mile from their home in the city of Brighton, UK.
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