We have monkey grass borders on the sides of the walkway leading up to the house. The cats love it as it allows them to play wild jungle beast stalking its prey.

I only wish we could do it to the whole yard. We have a buncha trees and so there's no sun for the grass. It just kinda grows in bunches where the light gets through the branches. I'm thinking of asking Wendy if we can till the whole thing and just plant shade loving flowering plants.

Except for some touchup work (which I'll do tomorrow), the painting is DONE.

One reason things took so long is that I was putting lighter shades of paint over dark and murky. It is amazing how much bigger the place looks, even in disarray.

People used to plant dandelions on purpose.

I would. I think they're pretty and amusing, plus I love dandelion greens.

However, I don't own a home or any land whatsoever, so my opinion may be taken with a ginormous grain of salt.

Connie, you did the civilized thing

It feels that way. t publically scratches in gauche places to make the feeling go away

People used to plant dandelions on purpose.

Dandelions are pretty and bright and sunny when spring is still being draggy and muddy. Their bedraggled, gone-to-seed selves, like a perky young thing who's stupidly drunk and still up at 4 AM when she should have gone to bed at midnight, are not so lovely.

I only wish we could do it to the whole yard.

A lot of people do use the dwarf version of mondo grass as sort of grass for shade. It's not entirely grasslike, but it can be walked on. I've contemplated it for my back yard, which is shady and currently consists of assorted weeds mixed with large monkey grass. I like to think of it as a wildlife refuge. It is always full of rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels and birds. A friend refers to it as a Walt Disney yard.

People used to plant dandelions on purpose.

I might have done this. Dandelions are yummy.

Congratulations, Anne! That's wonderful!

Dandelions are yummy.

What parts are edible? I know they make wine out of them (I learned that from Mr. Bradbury).

What parts are edible?

What parts are edible? I know they make wine out of them (I learned that from Mr. Bradbury).

Technically, all of them. You usually eat the young greens when they are tender, either raw in a salad or cooked like any other greens. They get tough and bitter as they age. You can also eat the flowers, also when young. I think it's the flowers that are made into wine. The roots can be ground up and used like a flour.

The important thing is to be sure you gather them from a site that isn't sprayed with pesticides or exposed to a lot of car exhaust or other noxious chemicals.

I've had soup made from the heads. Didn't kill me. I think they're pretty, and much maligned.