Dandelions

Up To Date

2011-07-21T11:24:00.004+01:00

Spurred on by the last blog entry and the fact that i have time on my hands at the moment, i spent a few hours the other day sorting out all my collected dandelion leaf specimens and putting them into the Dandelion Diary. It works out that i hadn't updated it since last June (2010) so there were about 100 to catalogue and archive.

The diary is still not quite up to date as the most recently collected specimens are still being pressed in books.

Pressed

2011-07-15T12:34:00.003+01:00

I've neglected to up date the Dandelion Diary recently. However, i still collect dandelion leaves from everywhere i visit. The consequence of this is a large backlog of pressed leaves in books under my desk ready to be transferred to the diary and also into my archive of specimens...

I have to admit the longer it goes that i'm not updating my records, the more i'm putting it off.

Windows

2011-06-30T10:28:00.002+01:00

Last night was the gathering at Harvey Nichols in Leeds for the work i have there on the restaurant windows.

There were summer cocktails and lovely canapes and beautiful little snacks etc for the guests. It was a bright sunny night so the vinyls glowed in the light. And, so the customers weren't blinded by the brightness the blinds were lowered. The vinyls then created a lovely soft outline onto the blinds with their shadows (image above).

What a fun night!

Week Print

2011-06-19T18:08:00.004+01:00

Above is another screen print recently finished:

It's a week of collected dandelion leaves gathered from around the Lancaster University campus (during my residency there last month). Then printed onto paper used in a machine to record humidity in buildings.

The number of prints in the edition is 5

Red Dandelion Prints

2011-06-07T10:48:00.002+01:00

Also on show at Harvey Nichols in Leeds I have some screen prints - red outlines of dandelion leaves overlapped many, many times.

Along with the red screen prints I have some Polaroids and also a series of Japanese dandelion screen prints on Japanese newspaper collected while on my trip last year.

Harvey Nichols

2011-06-07T10:42:00.002+01:00

A while ago I was asked to design some vinyls for the windows at Harvey Nichols in Leeds for their restaurant.

I went over a couple of weeks ago to see the finished designs and also to hang some framed works to accompany the window patterns.

The windows are now decorated with the overlapping outlines of dandelion leaves that i've collected from UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, France etc... The work will be up for a couple of months at Harvey Nichols, Victoria Quarter, Leeds.

Outcasts

2011-05-22T12:01:00.004+01:00

I know a poet called Mark Ward.
We have worked together in the past and i asked if he might consider writing something about dandelions when i saw him during the Curate the Campus project last week (he's studying for an MA in creative writing at the uni). I was really chuffed when he said yes and am delighted with the result:

Outcasts
Prolific: profligate,
they emulate the stars in their boldness
and intensity.
Unsung by poets, persecuted by gardeners,
the wrong type of flower
they stand defiant on the lawns and pathways
mid-Spring.
Outcasts, banished to the edgelands of our
towns and cities; flourishing on the sidings
and embankments: the mean backstreets
and the decaying monoliths of our industrial past.
Bouquets for the homeless.
In time the brash garish flowers transform
into opaque globular seed heads: light, delicate
they await the breeze to stir.
Dandelion clocks.
Pluck one; take a breath and blow.
Count the hours – spread the joy.
Come Spring there’ll be another star-burst on the lawn.

Mark Ward, 2011

CTC Day 8 - Final day

2011-05-21T11:54:00.003+01:00

The final day on my residency proved to be another successful day. I finished my concertina book of drawn dandelion leaves collected around the site (there's a total of 72 drawings in the book) and I also met with Eduardo Medina, a PhD student studying biological sciences: we had a really fascinating conversation about the British ecosystem assessment and lots to do with habitats and the value of land.

I then had a great meeting with Dr Rebecca Ellis a lecturer at the Lancaster Environment Centre whose background is in Social Anthropology - Emily Adams introduced us as she thought we would have a lot in common. A really interesting conversation which i'm still thinking about.

What a great few days - absolutely packed with things to think about from conversations and chance encounters. I loved this project! It will continue further into the future, i know it.

CTC Day 7 - Encounter

2011-05-18T10:07:00.005+01:00

The weather wasn't great yesterday - still grey and rainy most of the day. Aarrrh - the British summer is here.

I went to find the green roof on top of the Info Lab building at the far end of the campus. In the wind and rain me and Richard went out onto the deck outside the cafe to what can only be described as a dishevelled, weedy patch of yellowing plant life - pretty miserable looking. I was happy to see that some of the healthiest looking plants on the roof were dandelions - popping up where they shouldn't be. I collected a couple of leaf specimens and we left.

I had lunch with Mark Ward who is studying for his MA in creative writing. He has agreed to write a poem for the dandelion project and asked for an extension on the deadline (he fits well into student life).

The afternoon ended with a chance encounter - i met with Dr Felipe Otondo who has an office on the same corridor to me and is a lecturer in music technology - and we had a great discussion about dandelions, sound, art and such over a cup of tea. A great day.

CTC Day 6 - Rain

2011-05-17T10:57:00.005+01:00

It rained all day yesterday - it was horrible.

But although i didn't get out onto the grounds much I had a really great day.

I managed to get in to Bowland Tower - the big disused tower block right in the middle of the campus. It's been shut a few years - it used to be accommodation for students, but became infamous for the amount of suicides of students leaping from the top.

Pete Moser is doing 24 hours in the tower as part of the Curate the Campus project - writing a piece of music and broadcasting every hour from the 12th floor of the tower. That's how i managed to get in - i delivered a heater to him.

I have to say it is really nasty inside - bleak, wind swept and drizzle soaked. The window sills were covered in a blanket of dead flies - apparently the whole floor was also covered, but they cleaned it up before Pete stayed there. I admire Pete for his determination - a night in there must have been a real challenge.

I took lots of shots and also noted Wall-rue Asplenium ruta-muraria growing out of a crack in an outside wall 12 floors up, and also Groundsel Senecio vulgaris growing inside the building in a glass sided stairwell.

The day ended with a meeting with Ian Sturzaker the Landscape Manager here at Lancaster University. It was such and interesting chat - we talked about the university policy concerning weeds and management of the grounds. The boundaries of acceptability regarding weeds is interesting in this case: to let weeds live and grow in the pavements and landscaped areas would reveal a lack of care and disrespect for culture. However, the university is situated in fields and woodland - the site is 360 acres in total - so you can't continue a strict regime throughout, therefor weeds are part of the balance in the surrounding habitats.

CTC Day 5 - KCUF

2011-05-14T17:15:00.004+01:00

My fifth day on site started quite well with another bus trip where the kids were far better behaved, subdued even. Perhaps by Friday they are burnt out. While unloading the kids off the bus i noticed across the road someone had made an unsuccessful attempt to write a swear word backwards on the perspex of the bus shelter so people opposite (like me) could read it - it read: KCUF. Made me laugh for the rest of the journey.

I did lots more drawing: i think i've finished about 40 odd pages now, plus I wandered the grounds to collect leaves. I went to the lake and saw scrawny coot chicks and noted many flowers: cuckoo flower, meadow and creeping buttercups, forget-me-nots, figwort, daisies, wild pansy and foxgloves (i've left my note book at the office - so i can't remember the whole list).

CTC Day 4 - Drawing

2011-05-12T12:17:00.000+01:00

I did lots of drawing all yesterday afternoon - doing line drawings of dandelions leaves i've collected from around the site. It was a sunny, windy afternoon with cloud shadows skidding across the landscape.

Today is different - grey sky with some drizzle, a cooler, stiff breeze whipping in from the coast.

I've just had a great meeting with Roger Lang who, until recently, had his CLEO* office here at Balerigg House. He knows the site pretty well and we chatted about dandelions - he told me of a poem he knows about pulling up dandelions - i'm going to try and look it up then i'll put it on the blog.

I'm now going out to collect more specimens to finish the drawing work - a concertina book with a different drawing per page - i've done 20 odd so far and need to do about 60 in total.

*Cumbria and Lancashire Education Online

CTC Day 3 - The Journey

2011-05-11T12:15:00.005+01:00

The journey here was a trauma. I set off from the house at 7.20 and caught the bus from the centre of Preston.

It was the school bus.

There was only a few other non-teenagers on the bus: huddled together on the lower deck. The collective noise of screeching youths was indescribable - god only knows what the driver had done to get that shift. Thankfully the duration of the school run was quite short and when they all got off the driver stopped for a well earned break and give us all time for reflection.* He kept the doors open during the break - presumably to clear the heady smell of Lynx aftershave.

It took me two hours to get here.

Anyway i just got back from a fab meeting with Emily Adams who is studying a PhD here on Understanding and Managing Honey Bee Health in the UK. We had a lovely walk to a seat below Balerigg House where we sat and chatted about dandelions and bee research while having a cup of tea. While we walked further she gave me lots to think about and how so many different subjects overlap with the dandelion project. We had a great time and we're going to meet again tomorrow.

*I reflected on the thought that i've just bought a weekly ticket.

Curate the Campus Day 2

2011-05-10T16:00:00.007+01:00

It's been another fab day here at the Lancaster University campus. I first met with poet Mark Ward who is studying for his MA in creative writing and we arranged to meet later in the residency. I'm hoping he might write something for the project.

It was a drizzly start, but i went over to the far end of the site along the woodland walk. There was only me - i expect all the studes were busy studying and not having time to walk about the beautiful grounds...

I collected a few dandelion leaf specimens in my press and walked back to my office. I have an office! I've never had a job where i had an office (i've had jobs where others have the offices).

After a long walk to the furthest part of the campus from my office I met artists Jonathan Raisin and Elizabeth Willow by random chance in the garden they made last year for the Making Time project. We had a long chat about dandelions and the project - they used an image of a dandelion seed head on their Making Time postcard.

It's really sunny now so i'm off out to explore again.

Curate the Campus Day 1

2011-05-10T09:06:00.003+01:00

I started my residency yesterday here at Lancaster University at the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts.

When i got here in the morning it was a bright sunny morning. Richard Smith, the curator here, showed me around the campus: it's massive - an incredible array of concrete buildings set in some beautiful grounds surrounded by woodland with lots of trails and paths and open parkland with various sports fields.

I spent a couple of hours exploring the woodland and then a walk to the little lake and onto the rugby pitch - where i found this dandelion - and then back up to my little office where i'm based for the project.

The afternoon weather was totally different: it absolutely poured down. But i still managed a walk in the grounds with Richard as we chatted about the project and then i continued to explore the site and gather specimens and get my bearings.

Curate the Campus

2011-05-05T08:58:00.002+01:00

From 9th May - 20th May i'll be artist in residence at LICA Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts based at Lancaster University.

I'm going to concentrate on the dandelion project while there: i'll collect specimens (as always), but also i'm going to try and meet with as many people as possible from different departments to chat about dandelions within their own area of study.

More info

Outlines

2011-04-17T18:22:00.002+01:00

I'm working on some designs for window vinyls this last week and have decided i should go through my dandelion leaf archive and trace lots of the different leaves.

I realised i have been collecting leaves since 2007 and from many locations. The window design will contain outlines from Canada, Japan, Germany and lots from around the UK. There are about 50+ outlines on the windows.

Weird

2011-04-06T16:56:00.003+01:00

My housemate was working away from home the other day. While he was driving back he said he noticed a dandelion flower head was on the windscreen, where it stayed for the whole journey.
It had been picked - but he had no idea who placed it there.
Weird.

First Seeds

2011-03-11T10:04:00.003Z

I was in Lytham a couple of days ago and walking along the prom in the sunshine and blustery weather and I saw this dandelion: very low on the grass battered by salty sea water, it had already flowered and was in seed. In the last couple of weeks i have noticed one or two dandelions beginning to flower, but this is the first i've seen with a full seed head.

I picked a couple of leaves that are now being pressed in a book under my desk - ready to go into the Dandelion Archive.

Spring is here!

Dandelion Beer

2011-02-23T13:39:00.003Z

I got a letter through the post last week from my friend Patricia which contained labels from some dandelion beer.

Hi Rebecca

Beer labels enclosed. Interesting that the label illustrates the seed head but the flavour mentioned will be imparted by the flower. John has made wine from Dandelion flowers many times - you have to make sure all the green parts are removed. I bought a bottle of this for John (for part of his Christmas Present) and Miriam bought a bottle for me! Coincidence.

Hope you are well!
Patricia

The labels are now in the Dandelion archive (a box under my desk). I fancy finding some of the beer and trying it - better still i might try and make some of my own this summer...

Emails

2011-02-13T17:19:00.003Z

It's been a great week this week for the dandelion project - without even planning it. On thursday I received this email:

Hello Rebecca

"...My mother was an artist and illustrator and whilst I was doing some casual research on the internet I noticed that one of your sources for the 'Dandelion Project' had been a book called 'Botany for fun' by Gareth H. Browning and illustrated by Cecile M. Driffield - my mother...."

The illustration i used on the blog was for Centre for Contemporary Art posted in Jan 2010.

We have exchanged a couple of emails and she has told me a little more about her mother. It's been so lovely to hear more and Cecile M Driffield was a really talented artist of beautiful illustrations. It's made my week.

So, here is another of her illustrations (of dandelions) from the same book Botany for Fun by Gareth H Browning published in 1938.

Holy Grail Tapestry

2011-02-05T14:22:00.003Z

I'm continuing to locate dandelions in artworks and i found one the other day while looking through a book about mythology.

The Failure of Sir Gawain; Sir Gawain and Sir Uwain at the Ruined Chapel is one of three Quest for the Holy Grail tapestries held in Birmingham Museum. It was commissioned in 1895 by the industrialist Laurence Hodson, for his house Compton Hall near Wolverhampton. It is made of wool, silk, mohair and camel hair weft on cotton warp and was designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris and John Henry Deale.

I've not seen the tapestry close up though and would like to go to Birmingham soon to check it more closely.

One other thing: i just finished a lovely book about dandelions by Anita Sanchez. The Teeth of the Lion - The Story of the Beloved and Despised Dandelion is full of information about dandelions, recipes and stories etc. I found it particularly interesting as, with it being written from an American point of view, the dandelion is an alien, invasive species there and non-native. Sanchez is obviously very fond of dandelions, and not only writes about how they arrived in America, but also discusses how so many Americans really despise the plant and spend huge amounts of time and money on pesticides to eradicate them from beautifully kept lawns.

New Year Leaves

2011-01-15T10:47:00.003Z

I'm still collecting dandelion leaves where ever i go...

But, with there being less plants in these winter months plus the fact that i'm not travelling as much at the moment, my collecting is less frequent just now. I did however go on a trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park this week and collected these two leaves from right near my beehives on the estate. Considering the amount of snow that must have covered them recently they look remarkably healthy.

On another note - i just finished a wonderful book called Weeds by Richard Mabey. He writes about everything i've been researching in the past few years: the human attitude towards nature; how and why we classify species as desirable / undesirable; our perception of the environment etc... The book contains many references to lots of the subjects and people i've been looking at: John Clare's poetry, John Ruskin's writings in Proserpina, Richard Deakin's The Flora of the Colosseum and also the work of Edward Salisbury, John Gerard and Nicholas Culpeper. It's a really great book. Richard Mabey is definitely someone i would love to meet.

Winter

2010-11-12T13:22:00.002Z

I've not added much to the dandelion blog of recent weeks. The project is still continuing and i am always collecting dandelion leaves for the dandelion diary and archive, but with winter here there are less dandelions about.

A few days ago a friend sent a link to a children's programme she'd seen with her little boy early one morning - this is her email:

Hi

This episode was on this morning and surprisingly i thought of you! Guess with Jess is shown on BBC2 early mornings and in case you don't know it is a spin off from good old Postman Pat where Jess investigates everyday things. Sam loves it!

6:30 am - 6:40 am
Guess with Jess
How Did a Dandelion Seed Get into Mimi's Garden?
Emma
x

Needless to say i haven't been conscious at 6:30 in the morning for quite a while, so i haven't ever seen Guess with Jess.

The dandelions above were collected from the gardens at Brantwood near Coniston. I went yesterday in the rain and windy weather. While waiting in Ulverston for the bus i managed a quick visit to Oxfam and bought a book called The Snail House by Allan Ahlberg because it has lovely images of dandelions in by illustrator Gillian Tyler.

Dandelion Tea

2010-10-14T16:51:00.002+01:00

I was out shopping with my friend Helen the other day and we spotted this tea that's made from 'organically grown 100% organic dandelion'. I've not dared try it yet - quite honestly i expect it to be ghastly.

Brewing Instructions:
Use one teabag per cup.
Always use boiling water and infuse for 3-5 minutes for the fullest flavour.
To sweeten add sugar or honey.
Drink without milk.

Post

2010-10-07T09:32:00.003+01:00

In the post yesterday I received a note and cuttings from a catalogue from my friend Patricia, the botanist, who had collected some images of vases with dandelions on. She'd mentioned seeing the vases months ago (please see Symbolism blog entry in March) so i'm pleased she remembered to keep and then send me the cuttings.

Manhole

2010-09-26T12:28:00.002+01:00

This is the manhole cover in the middle of our road. A late flowering dandelion surviving in the most abstract location. I saw it this morning on the way home from the corner shop to get tea bags.

Alpine Dandelions

2010-09-06T12:02:00.002+01:00

My godfather sent a letter the other day that also contained dandelion leaves he'd collected on a trip to the Swiss Alps.

I am thrilled he thought of the project and bothered to collect and send them - they will now go in the dandelion archive (but not in the dandelion diary - only ones i've collected go in there).

Fen Dandelion

2010-08-11T11:20:00.002+01:00

Last week I went to visit my friend Owen the botanist and stay with him for a couple of days. He was surveying Wicken Fen and asked if i'd like to go too. In return for going with him on the survey he said he'd help me try and find the Fen Dandelion Taraxacum palustre which is found on the site. As this isn't a common dandelion I was very keen to go and see if we could find some.

The day of surveying was on a part of the fen that hasn't had anyone on it for 100 years (who'd have thought there was such a place in UK?) and we could only get there by boat. It was an amazing place - all overgrown with dense scrub and towering reeds - and although I got bitten, stung (by the stingless fen nettle), scratched, bruised and burned it was an incredible adventure to go to such a place.

After returning from surveying 'compartment one' we tried to find a Fen Dandelion. The image above shows the meadow we had to search. The two dots on the image are Owen and Peter helping me look. After inspecting the ground for ages we only found one dandelion on the whole meadow and it wasn't even a fen dandelion. Boooo!

As it goes it is a rubbish time of the year to look - with it flowering in early spring and dying back. I was hoping it would at least keep its leaves though, but it wasn't to be.

Never mind - i'll just have to visit again next spring. And i did have a great time going to a place nobody has been for 100 years (and probably won't go again for another 10). Thanks to Owen, Peter, James and Tim.

Dandelion Wine

2010-08-10T11:12:00.005+01:00

'Every year,' said Grandfather. 'They run amuck; I let them. Pride of lions in the yard. Stare, and they burn a hole in your retina. A common flower, a weed that no one sees, yes. But for us, a noble thing, the dandelion.'

My holiday reading while in France was Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. I bought it at a car boot sale in Alnwick and although i remember really liking Ray Bradbury books when i was a teenager - i did only buy it for the title.

It is the most magical book - one of those books you don't ever want to end. I read most of it on the train journey back across France, in a park in Paris, on the Eurostar train under the Channel and then on the train from London to Preston. There were a couple of bits that made me want to cry, but i thought it wasn't appropriate to cry on a train, plus there was a gripping scary bit that made me shut the book so i could take time to catch my breath. Wonderful!

And now i'm back from holiday i'm reading a hefty text book on meadow management.

French Dandelions

2010-08-09T12:36:00.003+01:00

My holiday in France was really wonderful and I managed to collect dandelions from Vimoutiers, Camembert, Trouville and Paris too. Lovely.

I also spotted these tins of chicory coffee with dandelion designs on in a supermarket and brought one home. The tin doesn't have any instructions on it at all so i'm not especially sure what i'm supposed to do with its contents...

France

2010-07-27T09:44:00.002+01:00

I'm off to France in a couple of hours - Preston to Paris on the train. I'm taking the book Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury with me as my holiday reading, plus i'll try and collect dandelions for the the project while i'm there.

I've travelled around a bit the past few days - and the two leaves here are from Glasgow. I was there on saturday to do a talk at CCA Glasgow.

White on White

2010-07-15T16:05:00.004+01:00

I went back to Artlab for the final time before the summer break (it's at Uni in Preston - the year runs from Sept - July). I was experimenting with printing white on white and black on black.

The prints have come out great and I really like the final results. Maybe i do like printing after all...*

The image here shows the screen made for the prints.

* See Artlab and Connections entry on the blog (January)

Timetable Prints

2010-07-12T18:03:00.004+01:00

I finally got to go back to Artlab to collect my prints for the book i'm making. I cut my timetable up from my journey to Japan and printed the outlines of Japanese dandelion leaves that i collected while there on to each page. I'd used the book to press the collected leaves in and bring home too.

The timetable wasn't that helpful as it goes with every timetable i used slightly wrong by a few minutes...

Freak

2010-07-07T14:37:00.002+01:00

I found this leaf at YSP on 23rd June on a hot sunny day. It's the first i've ever found with a deformity - two leaves coming from one. Wonderful.

Screen Printing Day 2

2010-06-30T09:45:00.005+01:00

So, with the screen ready i went for a day last week to Artlab at UCLAN and spent the day printing dandelion designs on to different Japanese papers and card for the book i will make. Actually, Magda did all the screen printing for me - i did things like move the paper into position, put it on the drying rack and wash the screens. I then had a go at screen printing myself - some of my attempts came out good - some were crap. It's not as easy as Magda made it look...

Screen Printing

2010-06-17T10:49:00.003+01:00

I spent a whole day in the print studios at the University of Central Lancashire yesterday getting a screen ready to print my book about the trip to Japan looking for dandelions.

Because i'm a bit of an idiot I didn't save the right files on my memory stick so i actually spent half the day walking to and from my house (walked up to uni, found the file was wrong, walked back to the house, walked back up to uni (via Snape Printers to drop off another project file that was going to print yesterday) walked back home - each walk is 25 mins). At least it was hot sunny weather.

So the screen is now ready and i'll go again for another day next week to start to print dandelion leaves and flowers on to a selection of different papers.

Imported Dandelions

2010-06-10T09:23:00.002+01:00

I went to Artlab last night - the first time in ages (i'm a bad student) and i was really chuffed to see my friend Muffy again. She'd been back to US to visit her family and i'd not seen her for months.

I was delighted to receive some dandelion leaves she'd collected while she was visiting home. This is the message on the card keeping them flat:

"Becs!
Imported dandelion leaves from my alley in Washington, DC
Muffy"

Here, i've scanned them all - aren't they lovely?

Dandelion Dibber

2010-06-08T08:31:00.003+01:00

I got a lovely email and images this morning from an artist called Christian who I met on my Weed Tour of Preston at the end of April.

"Hi. Find attached two photos from my Mum who is modelling the dandelion tool and for a bonus a daisy fork. The tool belonged to my Grandfather who fought in the first world war. The war on dandelions, a constant obstacle to the putting green finish to which he aspired for his lawn, lasted considerably more than four years.

C. "

I've only put one of the images on the blog, but the others show more of the dandelion dibber, plus some of a funny little daisy fork. I expect that if you really wanted a clear green lawn nothing could infuriate you more than a pesky weed popping up in the middle. I like that there's a little daisy in this photo - all confident.

Code

2010-06-03T14:11:00.004+01:00

I'm going to Accrington again today to interview more of the allotment holders about their plots. It's sunny again and i've arranged for tea and cake to be served for everyone that turns up.

I'll try and remember to collect a couple of dandelion leaves too for the dandelion diary, but i have to admit that sometimes i forget - even though i've been collecting for 3 years, i often forget to take a book to slide them between the pages. But today i'm taking my flower press to collect other specimens too so hopefully i'll remember.

Allotments

2010-05-31T10:49:00.005+01:00

For the last few days i've been going to Accrington in Lancashire to interview allotment holders at Peel Park.

The weather was so hot and sunny - what a lovely time to spend days hanging around on beautiful plots with such interesting and generous people.

There are quite a few derelict plots on the site and there was a particular one that i really liked - a bit isolated and overgrown, it was enchanting with its dandelion seeds floating about on the breeze shimmering in the sunlight.

I have to say that the plot holders i spoke to kept wonderful plots with fruit and vegetables and flowers and herbs (not fields of dandelions).They were so nice to me and one lady gave me a drink of Dandelion & Burdock in a plastic orange beaker- a blast from the past.

Taraxacum japonicum

2010-05-25T17:27:00.003+01:00

I got an email from Owen, the botanist, the other day in reply to my query about whether the dandelions i collected in Japan were native or not... i expected they were, but wanted some kind of confirmation too.

This is his reply:

Hi Becs

Here are my thoughts on the Japanese dandelion pictures. None of them seem to have the reflexed outer involucral bracts that one would associate with the introduced Taraxacum officinale, so my belief is that all the images you've sent to me are of native dandelion species. You've obviously got an eye for them.

Image08 (pictured here) - The horned ("corniculate") involucral bracts suggest T. japonicum, which is said to occur from Kinki district (i.e including Kyoto) westwards.

Image29 - hairy stem and short-horned bracts suggest T. variabile

The others are hard to classify because the salient features are not photographed, but the Kyoto plants may include T. pectinatum

Most of the other possibilities seem to have heads that are too far across (5cm). It's hard to be sure about all this but at least these are plausible.

Loads of love

Owen

Text

2010-05-19T17:24:00.003+01:00

Suddenly all the dandelions have gone to seed - all the ones by the derelict plot on Glover's Court that were last week all yellow are now fluffy and white. It's hard to resist blowing on them or flicking them with my hand.

I got a text from my botanist friend Owen yesterday:

'Will look properly at your Japanese Taraxacum this week. Have noticed once again how adverts make Dandelion THE archetypal weed. How are you chuck? Been just now at a social cum working meeting with a friend who's got a visiting reader's post at Munich Uni so thought about Thomas & you. Loads of love, Owen'

He's the only person i know who uses Latin in a text.

Leaving Frenchwood Street

2010-05-13T09:14:00.004+01:00

I have lived on Frenchwood Street in Preston for 5 years (2 weeks short of 5 years), but by the end of this week i'll be moving to a new place. I'm surrounded by boxes and the walls are now bare, the phone gets cut off tomorrow and the local charity shop has refused any more of my tat. Lots has happened in the past 5 years: good and bad. I'm happy to leave this street now with the crime and grime (the police use our wheelie bin to tie the crime scene tape to!), but i am quite fond of the place too and our neighbours are lovely.

The dandelion leaves here are from the top end of Frenchwood Street (from a most precious spot). Although they look a bit weak and pathetic (i collected them a couple of months ago) the plant is now beautiful, healthy and green with a couple of full flowers on: surviving in the crack in the dirty pavement. I collected new leaves from the same plant yesterday - probably the last i'll collect from this street.

Funny Canadians

2010-05-11T10:31:00.004+01:00

My friend Elizabeth sent me this image the other day of dandelions for sale in a store in Toronto.

I'd love to see the farm they come from - fields of dandelions - i wonder if they let them flower.

I'm not sure how successful trying the sell them here in UK would go...

Weed Tour of Preston

2010-05-10T10:17:00.004+01:00

On the 28th April I lead one of the alternative tours of Preston for the Place Beyond Place symposium organised by In Certain Places*

I took the participants around some of the back streets of the city centre to discover the weed hot-spots and I talked about where the plants had originated from and why they thrive in the harsh urban environment. I also talked about how my interest in the dandelions of Preston had led me on a trip to Japan and that it was the recognition of familiar plants that helped me navigate my way around an unfamiliar landscape.

One of the other artists leading a tour was Catriona Stamp. She's a maker of artists books and she gave me the most delightful little book she'd made Wild Flowers as it has a dandelion in it. I'm loving that people bring me things and send images and stories with dandelions in them.

This image here is of St John's Place and was taken by Andy Greenacre

*a public art initiative and action research project based here in Preston

What Now?

2010-05-09T10:35:00.005+01:00

So, now what do I do?

I've been back from Japan for a couple of weeks now and i've been constantly thinking of what I should do with all this information i've gathered. My trip to Japan was so wonderful and inspirational - working out how to express that will take a while i think.

There is a list of individuals that really helped me with my trip:

Peter, Mayumi, Erika and Mike - for their generous hospitality (and Lorcan for the original introduction)
David Swift - for all his advice and information about travel, eating and customs etc
Mari Fuji-Pratt - for all her support, help and translating my name into Japanese
Takeshi Hayashi - at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts (and Nobby and Natalie for the original introduction)
Shiba - for all her advice on travelling in Japan as a lone female (and Simon and Gav for putting us in contact)
Dr Christine Guth - for chatting to me about the project and giving me new directions of investigation (and Neil for the original introduction)
Charles Quick - for encouraging me to apply for research funding
Helen - for offering to send me extra cash when all flights out of Tokyo were cancelled because of the Icelandic volcano

They all contributed to a fascinating experience that will remain with me forever - thanks!!

Japan Trip Day 9 - Volcano

2010-05-05T15:00:00.005+01:00

Day 9
I had a great night at the Hilton Hotel at Narita Airport and got up early to get to Terminal 2.

My flight was cancelled.

It was the only one on the board to be cancelled (i was in the terminal with only 5 European flights - terminal 1 was by all accounts in chaos).

Nobody from Finnair came to see us at first, but when they did they sent me straight to the other end of the terminal to get on the standby list for a flight to London (i should have been flying to Manchester via Helsinki) with Japan Airlines.

I had to sit around and wait. The British Embassy had sent a nice chap to see if we were all ok and to inform us about stuff. He was really kind and encouraged me to queue early - and I got on the flight! It was the first flight out of Tokyo to London for days: there was a family in front of me that had been living in the airport for 4 days waiting to get a flight. So, i was incredibly lucky. I had even more luck on the flight - a vegetarian had cancelled their flight - so i got their meals!

After the 13 hour flight I got to Heathrow by about 5pm, got across London to Euston and caught the 7.30 train to Preston to get home by 10pm

And that's it - my trip completed. The most amazing thing I've ever done in my life. The images I hold in my head will stay with me forever.

The image here is a dandelion from a scroll in the National Museum in Tokyo
Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons by Sakai Hoitsu
Edo Period 1818

Japan Trip Day 8 - Botanical Gardens

2010-05-05T14:12:00.003+01:00

Day 8
Getting lost on the way to what i thought was the Kyoto Botanical Gardens I went to visit the Nishi Temple and the ornate Karamon gate instead. Not one to give in I finally found a park on the map - a fairly neglected public park with an enclosed bit in the middle that cost 200 Yen to get in (about £1.60).

No kidding, i was the only visitor in the park - wandering around in the pouring rain looking at plants trying to avoid the freaky feral cats that kept growling at me. There were weird birds calling in the trees, but i couldn't see them and steam trains hooting nearby. An altogether strange place to venture. I collected dandelion leaves from near the sign post to the entrance of the park and left.

On getting back and looking in my guide book I since discovered I was in totally the wrong area of Kyoto to find the botanical gardens and was instead at a funny little park called Umekoji-koen!

I caught the train to Tokyo and then got the NEX to the airport where I was staying overnight. The original plan was to meet up in the late afternoon with a couple of friends (actually the friends of the ex-girlfriend of my house mates brother) but because of the Icelandic volcano travel trouble I decided to go straight to the airport and arrived there by 6pm.

Japan Trip Day 7 - Japanese Dandelions

2010-05-05T09:35:00.003+01:00

Day 7
I was glad to get up and out of the hotel - i had a night of vivid disturbing dreams that left me feeling unsettled...

I bought a bus pass and caught the bus up to Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion) - the most wonderfully peaceful gardens, the smell was heavenly sweet and the moss a fresh green - a couple of chaps were sweeping the moss of leaves. Needless to say there wasn't a blade of grass out of place and so i didn't find any dandelions.

The excitement came as i strolled along the Philosopher's Walk that leads from near the Pavilion along the cherry-tree-lined canal* along the Higashiyama (Eastern Mountains) leading to Nanzen-ji. As I walked along some dandelions caught me eye - they were growing on the steep walled edges leading down to the canal water - and they looked quite delicate and the leaves were a bit different. So, I clung to a tree and reached down to pick a couple of leaves and a flower. I also took shots too. As it goes I reckon they are Japanese dandelions - how exciting! There were quite a few along the walk from then on - so I collected a number of specimens.

I stopped for lunch beside the canal and was rained upon by a shower of cherry blossom petals - beautiful.

It was a hot sunny day and after visits to the Jodo-sect temple at Honen-in and the massive gateway of the Nanzen-ji Temple and the western style Meji-period aqueduct I caught the bus back into the city.

I walked through parts of the Gion District - with its winding streets, people, shadows, shrines, shops and i caught sight of a couple of maiko (apprentice geisha) with their tall koppori clogs, beautiful arranged hair and costumes with embroidered collar.

I walked for 9 hours and was totally exhausted by the evening, but so very happy with my day in Kyoto: dandelions, temples, blossom, people and sunshine. Perfect.

*clear the image of a British canal from your mind : the water was clear, shallow, fast running with a sprinkling of cherry blossom petals floating on the top (not a dead dog in sight)

Japan Trip Day 6 - Kyoto

2010-05-04T14:52:00.006+01:00

Day 6
Hmmm - do I need to mention i woke with a hangover...?

It was a beautiful day and I packed and then decided to walk all the way across the city to get to the station via the peace park again, along the river, through the shopping district and into a fantastic comic shop too.

The train journey to Kyoto was good and i was sat by the window so i got great views of the passing countryside.

Kyoto station is absolutely massive - it took 10 mins to get out onto the street, but my hotel* was nearby and easy to find.

I strolled out in the late afternoon to see the Higashi Hongan-ji Temples which were wonderfully beautiful with practically nobody else there. One of the buildings is the largest wooden structure in the world and was so impressive. I managed to pick two dandelion leaves from inside the grounds without being caught - i did the 'pretending-to-look-at-my-guide-book-while-crouching-down' trick.

I then walked for 3 hours and covered miles wandering along streets and going down lanes people and building watching. I was totally exhausted when i got back to the hotel and my legs and knees were beginning to give in.

After a meal of food bought from a bakery and the convenience store nearby I slept on my little futon in my tiny room surrounded by the noise of the passing city.

*The word hotel is a generous term to use to describe my accommodation. It was a Japanese Ryokan style place, but for backpackers that can't afford the posh ones.

Japan Trip Day 5 - Earth Tremor and Miyajima

2010-04-29T12:13:00.002+01:00

Day 5
Very early in the morning - about 5.30am - while sleeping on my futon at the World Friendship Centre I was woken by birds calling loudly outside my window. Moments later the whole building shook and rumbled and it originated from right underneath me. It only lasted a couple of seconds and then faded away. I fell back asleep.

At breakfast Barb (the lady who runs the WFC) confirmed it was an earth tremor. I've never experienced one before.

After breakfast I caught a tram to Miyajimaguchi Ferry terminal and then caught the ferry over to Miyajima. The day was bright and sunny and the water sparkled. The ferry only takes 10 minutes and i got great views of O-torii Gate in the water.

As I got to the island fairly early in the morning there wasn't too many tourists and i looked around the Itsukushima Shrine and then i wandered up to Daishoin Temple with its absolutely beautiful gardens full of figures - some dressed in hand knitted hats and jackets (a bit like the ones your granny would knit for you!). I loved it there.

I then embarked on climbing up Mount Misen - as i wanted to see if i could spot dandelions on the paths. I wasn't especially well equipped for such a steep climb (no walking boots, only one little bottle of water - proper tourist stuff), but felt ok about it when i passed a chap dressed in a full suit and posh shoes coming down the mountain. It took me about an hour and a half to get to the top and the views were breathtaking. Twinkling sea, little islands, blue sky and cherry blossom - perfect.

On my way down I started to chat with a chap called Alex who was travelling around the world. We spent the rest of the afternoon together exploring bits of the island - it was fun. As it goes i didn't find one dandelion on the island and was bitterly disappointed. The island is overrun by deer and i expect that might be the cause - eating all the small flowers and plants.

I collected dandelion leaves and a flower from the ferry terminal at Miyajimaguchi instead.

I spent the evening with Alex in Hiroshima where we ate gorgeous Japanese food in an empty restaurant and then spent time in a bar where we decided to sample as many Japanese beers as we could before falling over.

I think this was my favorite day on the whole trip.

Japan Trip Day 4 - Hiroshima

2010-04-29T08:54:00.003+01:00

Day 4
Mayumi and Erika escorted me to Hachimanyama Station and I caught the train to Tokyo Station via Shinjuku where I then booked my ticket to Hiroshima (i had a Japan Rail Pass for the trip, but reserved all my seats beforehand). Japanese trains are amazing, beautiful objects and waiting on the platform was an experience in itself - watching the Nozomi trains come in and the pink clad team of women going on board to switch the seats around (to the direction of travel) and clean the windows etc.

My journey was via Shin-Osaka where i had a brief stop, then onward to Hiroshima. The landscape was shrouded in mist, but i got brief glances of mountains and forests and the sea. I got a very brief view of Mount Fuji - the top and bottom were covered in cloud, but i could still the enormity of it - wonderful.

Arriving in Hiroshima the weather was a lot brighter and sunny, so after a taxi ride to where I was staying and unpacking my stuff I wandered out to the city centre to collect dandelions.

Hiroshima is a huge, bustling city and my stroll took me along Heiwa-o-dori and into the Peace Park. It was incredibly moving. There was a large bell that people kept chiming and the low deep sound resonated across the park - it was very eerie. At the A Bomb Dome I reached into the alarmed area to risk getting two dandelion leaves for the collection - and i got them! They are tiny and scruffy and I am thrilled i risked it.

The day ended at a little restaurant called Itsuki where I had the place to myself and ordered the local speciality (the only thing on the menu) Okonomiyaki. I had the veggie option which consisted of a pancake, noodles, cabbage (more than you'd think was physically possible to eat) and sauce all layered into a cake type dish. Very yummy - impossible to eat with chopsticks.

The image here is of the dandelion i picked at the A Bomb Dome - it's tiny on the photo, but look closer between the bars and you'll spot it.

Japan Trip Day 3 - Museum

2010-04-27T08:31:00.005+01:00

Day 3
The day started with a journey across the city in rush hour so I could get to Ueno Park to meet with Mr Takeshi Hayashi at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Mayumi came with me for half the journey - which was a great help during such a busy journey. We were crammed onto the train and changing lines was an amazing experience following along in the overwhelming flow of people.

Me and Takeshi had a lovely time chatting about work and dandelions and Yorkshire Sculpture Park (he has work in an exhibition there at present).

I then went to the Tokyo National Museum to see if I could spot dandelions in their collection. I'm getting good at scanning cabinets and object for dandelions - it means i look intensely at every object and exhibit and it can be quite obsessive.

It paid off though and I found a few dandelions - quite big, lovely clear ones too.

The first - pictured here - was on a screen. The label states:

'Female Peddlers of Ohara'
by Tsuchida Bakusen (1887 - 1936)
Colour on silk
1923 (Taisho 12)
Private collection

The screen the dandelion is on is made up of 6 panels with a female peddler sat on a log, with bamboo and the dandelions in the background. Lovely.

Dandelions were also featured on another screen (with birds), an exquisite scroll featuring lots of plants, a wall hanging showing a white dandelion and also very stylised ones on a dish.

I had lunch at the museum and sat beside a nice lady called Maggie who was also travelling in Japan and gave me great tips on where i might see dandelions in parks in Tokyo.

On leaving the Ueno Park I visited Toshogu Shrine and collected a couple of dandelion leaves for the dandelion diary. I then made my way home via Shibuya Station and as this was where I needed to change train lines I left the station to walk across Shibuya Crossing - a mass of swarming people, it was bright, busy and loud.

The evening was spent with Peter and Mayumi sampling Japanese sweets and enjoying a glass of wine. They made me so welcome in their family - it really was a wonderful start to my trip.

Japan Trip Day 1 & 2 - Travel

2010-04-26T15:03:00.009+01:00

Ok, so after deciding to eat my way through my jet lag, i'm feeling a lot better now and can milk it no longer as an excuse for not up dating the blog.

Day 1 & Day 2
6.30 am start - then a train to Manchester airport, flight to Helsinki, flight to Tokyo, NEX train to Shibuya, local train to Takido - total travel time = 20 hours ish (still can't work it out with the time difference).

Diary extract from the journey:
"I had weird food to eat - a beetroot type burger and veg and then some liquid, thick raspberry stuff. Too many people are coughing - it's like a flying hospital. If I get out of this without a cold i'll be amazed."
"I just had the most disgusting breakfast - some boiled carrots and a piece of cheese omelet that's been kept warm since yesterday. Yum"

It was a hassle free journey and customs and passport control were easy and my bag was coming along the conveyor belt when i arrived. Getting from the NEX train in Shibuya to the Keio Inokashira Line took a while to figure out, but it all worked out in the end. From the train I saw dandelions - so i was absolutely delighted that i'd chosen a good time to travel.

While waiting at Takaido Station for Peter, my host for the next 2 days, I wandered around the streets nearby and found my first dandelions to collect. The image here is the first of my European dandelions in Japan.

I had the afternoon to myself and wandered in the local area spotting cherry blossom and dandelions and also visited the local supermarket with its pet department housing puppies and kittens in glass fronted display units. The evening was spent with Mayumi, Peter, Erika and Mike eating lovely Japanese food.

I flagged at 9pm and slept a deep dreamless sleep.

Japan!

2010-04-24T12:34:00.002+01:00

My trip to Japan was too big to describe in a blog: it was exciting, incredible, challenging, inspiring, beautiful, funny, wonderful. I saw so many things in such a short time - i feel like i was away so much longer than i was.

The landscape, people, culture and food all brought new experiences to me and I can only try to explain this as best as i can. I kept a diary of the trip plus i took over 400 shots on my 3 cameras.

I was thrilled to see lots of European dandelions and also i found Japanese dandelions too - they are so very beautiful. I visited the National Museum in Tokyo and was delighted to find the representation of dandelions on a few objects in the collection.

I only got back a couple of days ago and i have horrible jet-lag - so i'm going to up date the blog over the next few days trying to tell the story of the adventure to Japan looking for dandelions.

This Is It

2010-04-12T12:16:00.004+01:00

Deep breath - I go on my trip tomorrow...
Bloody hell, who'd have thought I'd ever get to Japan?

Ok, so i just got back from collecting my Yen and a few other bits and now my bed is covered in piles of stuff ready to be squeezed in to my bags.

I reckon i'm a pretty lucky person most of the time, but if anything ridiculous is going to happen to anyone - that person is usually me (splashed by speeding cars in the rain on the way to important meetings; shit on from a great height by disease ridden pigeons (don't ever tell someone that's lucky); tripping up in front of a person you're about to introduce yourself to - the list could go on). So, a couple of days ago i started to worry that perhaps i didn't actually book a ticket to Japan - or perhaps there's another city in the world called Tokyo and i am in fact jetting off to Isle of Man*.... but this morning I tried checking in on-line: and it worked!

And yesterday I got an email from an associate professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts to say he'll meet me during my visit - this is part of his message:

Dear Rebecca
Thank you for your email.
I looked at your website, i could not understand rightly your idea. But it is very interesting about dandelion. So I will not help you in Japan, but i'd like to meet you this time in Ueno.
Could you please come to our University. Our University is Tokyo University of the Arts in Ueno. I will wait for you at the gate of our University on 10:00 morning 15th April.
Look forward to hearing from you

Takeshi

How exciting - meeting someone that i can tell about the project. Lucky man.

Ok - i'll probably not up-date the blog while away - but will have lots to tell when i get back.

* would have been a very expensive flight to the Isle of Man

This Time Next Week

2010-04-07T19:59:00.003+01:00

I will have arrived in Japan by this time next week.
I've always wanted to got to Japan and combining it with a research trip was the only way I could manage to get there. I've been planning this trip since last summer and in that time I've tried to make contact with various professionals that could potentially help with my research (a curator of a botanical garden, a researcher at one of the universities studying the spread of European dandelions and a curator at a major museum). However, i've not been successful in tempting them into replying (even to tell me to get lost) so when i'm there I am entirely on my own to discover things for myself. I am going to try and collect dandelion specimens (both Japanese and European), plus i will visit museums to try and spot dandelions in collections of material culture.

I'm travelling quite a bit while i'm there so there is more chance of spotting varieties of dandelions - but who knows - i might come back empty handed. I'll be pretty gutted like if i don't even see one dandelion (and i expect the arts council won't be too chuffed either).

By the way - i just saw my first swallows of the year, so as advised I touched my money for luck ;)

Business Card

2010-04-07T15:06:00.004+01:00

It's been mentioned I should have a business card to take with me to Japan to give out to potential contacts I might meet etc.
So I asked my friend Mari to translate my name in to Japanese. The Japanese text above is my name - i'm supposing anyway - she could of course have put something incredibly rude. I expect i'll find out when i present my card to the first recipient.

Symbolism

2010-03-29T09:32:00.008+01:00

It's been an interest of mine to look at the symbolism of the dandelion - both historically and in a contemporary context. I've noticed that the use of dandelions in contemporary design will almost always only use the seed-head, but hardly ever the flower. Perhaps the flower is considered just too vulgar and common to inspire reproduction (maybe the old belief that touching dandelions will cause bed-wetting doesn't especially help), where as the seed-head is seen as delicate and beautiful: representing time passing - seeds gently floating along on the spring breeze etc...
In folk stories blowing on a dandelion seed-head will determine what time it is, how long you will live, when you will marry (this year, next year, sometime, never) and how many children you'll have etc.

I've seen seed-head designs on t-shirts, greeting cards, coasters, mugs, as stencils for DIY home decorating, on wrapping paper, and on textiles.

I recently received this email form my friend Pat:

Hi Rebecca
Have you seen this design by Royal Copenhagen?
We were in Keswick last weekend in a cafe having lunch. There was a gallery above the cafe and I went upstairs with my friend to have a browse. There was this vase with the dandelion design - £635!! I told my friend and the lady in the shop about your project - she very kindly cut the pages from her catalogue so that i could give it to you. The design is very unusual and what surprises me most is that the flower doesn't feature - just the seed-head and the leaf. Apparently it is quite an old design and has been produced for years.
Regards
Patricia

I have found a dandelion leaf in a design on a Mornflake Superfast Oats packet - only the leaf and not the flower or seed-head (it's in the background along with oats, honesty, ribwort plantain, wild carrot, shepherd's purse, goosegrass, hogweed and a vetch).

Historically the dandelion is St Brigid's flower. Brigid is one of Ireland's earliest recorded saints and along with St Patrick is one of Irelands most famous saints. It is thought she was born sometime between 452 and 456 CE in Faughart near Dundalk in Co. Louth.
It's believed she died on 1st February 524 - so her feast day is celebrated every year on the 1st February. The dandelion is known at St Brigid's flower because it is the first flower of spring.
As it goes, I haven't found an image of St Brigid that shows a dandelion too - i'm still searching.

The dandelion lights its spark
Lest Brigid find the wayside dark.
And Brother Wind comes rollicking
For joy that she has brought the spring.
Young lambs and little furry folk
Seek shelter underneath her cloak.

Winifred Mary Letts (1882 - 1972)

With further searching i've found that the dandelion also symbolises desire, sympathy, affection returned and can mean love me.
Finding out what it symbolises in Japanese culture has proved a little harder, but it seems to mean similar things: faithfulness, happiness and is also known as love's oracle.

YSP

2010-03-25T14:44:00.004Z

I spent the last two days at Yorkshire Sculpture Park looking for bumblebees (I'm doing a residency there over the next year looking at native bee species - bumble and solitary - plus we are setting up bee hives to observe honey bees too).

I managed to collect dandelion leaves on both days for the dandelion diary, plus I got this close up shot of a dandelion just beginning to open up.

I have a blog for that project too (because i have nothing better to do with my time):

www.chesneybeeproject.blogspot.com

First Dandelion

2010-03-19T14:37:00.004Z

I decided to skive work this morning with the weather being so mild and sunny and spent a couple of hours at my allotment.

On the way there I went through Avenham Park alongside the Ribble. I saw my first dandelion flower in full bloom facing the sun. There was also lots of Coltsfoot flowers, a few Daffodils and a lot of Ramsens coming up already. There was a solitary dandelion in full bloom in Miller Park by the Ribble under the Chestnut tree avenue the council have just massacred (diseased my arse). It looked very lonely in all the devastation.

Incredibly I also saw two House Martins - my first of the year. It seems very early to me.

The dandelion leaves here are from Avenham Park. I did get a shot of the dandelion in flower - only i took it on my crappy Lomo and i expect it'll take months before i develop the film, plus no doubt it'll be blurred too.

Japanese Dandelion Definition

2010-03-18T12:03:00.004Z

I found this definition to help me find Japanese dandelions while i'm there:

Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Taraxacum
Species Epithet: japonicum

Kansai-tanpopo. Dandelion

Perennial herbs. Leaves, oblanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 10 - 30 cm long, 3 - 5 cm wide, entire or variably lobed, usually with 5 or 6 pairs of triangular lateral lobes, sometimes pinnatifid to pinnatipartite; petiole green, sometime reddish, with or without a wing. Flowers March to May. Scape green or reddish, densely floccose at base of head. Head 2 - 3cm in diam., with 30 - 100 florets (average 80). Involucre green or dark green, 12 - 15 mm long at flowering. Exterior bracts appressed, 2/5 - 3/5 as long as involucre, densely villose on margin, with or without a small corniculate appendage to ca. 1.5 mm long; outermost bracts oblong-lanceolate to ovate-oblong, 3 - 5 mm long, 1.5 - 2.5 mm wide. Ligules yellow, 15 - 16 mm long, 2 - 2.5 mm wide. Style and stigma black. Pollen uniform in size and exine structure. Achenes mostly straw coloured, rarely dark brown, ovate, 3 - 3.5 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm wide, apex spinulose and tuberculate, smooth near base, cone conical, 0.5 - 0.8 mm long. Beak 5 - 8 mm long. Pappus white, 5 - 7 mm long. Sexual.
Sunny ruderal habitats such as roadsides and edges of paddy fields; below 500m.

Very helpful - thanks.

The image here is of a British dandelion (not Japanese). Hopefully i'll come back from my trip with lots of new images of Japanese dandelions.

Japan Prep

2010-03-16T13:12:00.004Z

I ordered my Japan Rail Pass today - in exactly 4 weeks I go on my trip to Japan.

I also got my spare battery for my camera in the post today, so I won't need to worry that it goes flat during the trip while i'm taking thousands of shots. I'm going to take my Polaroid SX70 too (my favorite camera) - plus if i have room i might take my pinhole 100 (but it's quite bulky and i might leave it at home). I've ordered films for it ready, in case i take it. You can't have too many cameras...

All my accommodation is booked too. Kyoto was the most difficult to find somewhere (i wanted a small ryokan) with it being blossom season - but after a day of emailing enquiries out i have found one near the station.

There's still a bit of planning to do, but i'm nearly there.

Spring

2010-03-14T15:46:00.003Z

I just got back from a 2 hour session of digging up weeds on the allotment.

It's been a lovely week - sunny weather and blue skies - and all the plants are beginning to come up - the celandines are already in flower in the park and there was a pretty little daisy on the allotment (i didn't have the heart to pull it up, so it's still there). As I walked along the bank of the Ribble I saw my first dandelion bud ready to burst open. All the dandelions are growing and getting stronger - it won't be long now....

I don't seem to have any photos of dandelion buds and I didn't have my camera with me - so this image doesn't really match.

Place Beyond Place Symposium

2010-03-12T11:59:00.004Z

Tanpopo Tour of Preston 28th April 2010

I have been asked to lead one of the artist tours of Preston city in the afternoon of the symposium.

The Place Beyond Place Symposium has been developed by In Certain Places for urban planners, artists, public art commissioners, architects, urban designers and people with an interest in the future of cities.

The morning will feature presentations by artist and founding director of cSPACE Lorain Leeson and geographer Tim Creswell, Professor of Human Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London.

My Tanpopo Tour will take you round the weed hotspots of the city revealing how plant species from all around the world have come to settle in the city.

To find out more and to book your place please go to the Place Beyond Place website.

Clever Witches

2010-02-28T12:12:00.003Z

I found this info on the Leicester Pagan Alliance website:

'Herbal knowledge is a powerful tool. It was necessary for witches centuries ago who possessed such knowing, to disguise the names of their ingredients so, should their sacred journal fall into the wrong hands, without the corresponding Herbal Code to decipher the true meaning of the herbal ingredients, spells, potions and medicines would be useless'

So, with this in mind, witches used 'Lions Tooth' instead of Dandelion.... how cunning.

Please see Name Calling in the post below.

Name Calling

2010-02-23T16:05:00.003Z

It's not clear which part of the Dandelion was the source of its name - it could be the jagged leaves resembling the teeth of a lion, or the whole jaw of a lion; the yellow flower resembling the mane of a lion or the golden teeth of the heraldic lion.

Dandelion is a corruption of the French Dent de Lion. It's former scientific Latin name was Dens leonis and Linnaeus assigned it the name Leontodon taraxacum. Taraxacum is derived from the Greek taraxos (disorder) and akos (remedy). It's scientitic name is now Taraxacum officinale assigned by Weber. Officinale is from the Latin officina meaning pharmacy.

Different European countries use the Lion's tooth name too:

Diente de león - Spanish
Dente-de-leão - Portugese
Dente di leone - Italian
Löwenzahn - German
Løvetann - Norwegian
Løvetand - Danish
Dant y Llew - Welsh

There's also masses of local names: Swine's Snout, Blowball, Irish Daisy, Lion's Tooth, Priest's Crown, Canker Wort, Clocks and Watches, Devil's milk plant, Fairy Clock, Fortune Teller, Pee in the bed, Piss-a-bed, Puffball, Wet-a-bed, Wild Endive.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

2010-02-19T14:53:00.006Z

I finally finished the book of seeds i've been working on.
It's 32 pages of little dandelion seeds in fine black pen.
In total there are 2560 seeds in the book.

Peter Scott Gallery

2010-02-18T10:07:00.005Z

It was the opening of Conversations with the Collection exhibition on Tuesday night. I was asked to look through the collection at the Peter Scott Gallery at Lancaster University and choose a piece of work that I could then partner with a piece of my own work.

We (I went with fellow artists Elaine Speight and Robina Llewellyn) weren't actually allowed to rummage through the real collection, but could look through massive catalogues listing each item. I picked a Chinese fan that showed a couple of butterflies with spooky eyes and there's a wonderful dandelion on it too. The flowers are faint but the leaves are really clear. I was chuffed to find a dandelion in the collection.

So I partnered it with a piece that I was still working on and finished for the exhibition. It's a piece of black bed sheet embroidered with synthetic gold thread. I've stitched a row of 16 dandelion leaves on it - all different. The finished piece is 129 x 37 cm.

The image here is a detail.

The exhibition runs until 20 May
Admission free
Mon - Fri 11am - 5pm
& Sat 11am - 4pm

Dandelions 1653

2010-02-16T09:20:00.007Z

Culpeper's Complete Herbal - And English Physician Enlarged

Nicholas Culpeper was an apothecary, physician and astrologer. He wrote several works, but it's his Herbal that is the most famous and was first published in 1653.

The entry for dandelion is quite long which includes description; place; time and government and virtues sections.

"DANDELION, VULGARLY CALLED PISS-A-BEDS

Descript.] It is well known to have many long and deep gashed leaves, lying on the ground round about the head of the roots; the ends of each gash or jag, on both sides looking downwards towards the roots; the middle rib being white, which being broken, yields abundance of bitter milk, but the root much more...
Place.] It grows frequently in all meadows and pasture-grounds.
Time.] It flowers in one place or other almost all the year long.
Government and virtues.] It is under the domination of Jupiter. It is of an opening and cleansing quality, and therefore very effectual for the obstruction of the liver, gall and spleen, and the diseases that arise from them, as jaundice the hypocondriac; it opens the passages of the urine both in young and old; powerfully cleanses imposthumes and inward ulcers in the urinary passage; and by its drying and temperate quality doth afterwards heal them; for which purpose the decoction of the roots or leaves in white wine, or the leaves chopped as pot-herbs, with a few Alisanders, and bolied in their broth, are very effectual. And whoever is drawing towards a consumption or evil disposition of the whole body, called Cachexia , by the use hereof for some time together, shall find a wonderful help. It helps also to produce rest and sleep to bodies distempered by the heat of ague fits, or other wise. The distilled water is effectual to drink in pestilential fevers, and to wash the sores. You see here what virtues this common herb hath, and that is the reason the French and Dutch so often eat them in Spring; and now if you look a little farther, you may see plainly without a pair of spectacles, that foreign physicians are not so selfish as ours are, but more communicative of the virtues of plants to people."

I felt like I was coming down with a mild case of evil disposition the other day - if i'd known white wine and a few dandelions could have saved me - i would have given it a go.

Dandelions 1597

2010-02-15T11:44:00.006Z

Gerard's Herbal - Of the Historie of Plants

In 1597 John Gerard, the Elizabethan physician who superintended the gardens of Lord Burleigh in the Strand, first published Of the Historie of Plants. The first edition is seldom quoted, for the enlarged second edition, by Thomas Johnson, of 1633 was far better (there was over 1000 corrections made to the first edition). It was due to Johnson that the Herbal continued for a long time to be the standard work for English students.*

This is the entry for dandelion:

"The hearbe which is commonly called Dandelion doth send forth from the root long leaves deeply cut and gashed in the edges like those of wild Succorie, but smoother: upon every stalke standeth a floure greater than that of Succorie, but double & thicke set together, of colour yellow, and sweet in smell, which is turned into a round downy blowbal that is carried away with the wind. The root is long, slender, and full of milky juice, when any part is broken, as is the Endive or Succorie, but bitterer in tast than Succorie.
They are found often in meadowes, neere unto water ditches, as also in gardens and high wayes much troden.
They floure most times in the yeare, especially if the winter not be extreme cold."

*I've used information written by Marcus Woodward in 1927 from the introduction to my copy of Gerard's Herbal.

I dissected the flower head of a dandelion and the drawing above is of the individual parts. The original drawing is A2 size.

Little Winter Dandelions

2010-02-11T09:12:00.003Z

Yesterday I went to the Peter Scott Gallery in Lancaster (at the University) to install a piece of work for an exhibition that starts next week.

It was a cold day with brief snow showers, but I still wanted to find a couple of dandelion leaves for the dandelion diary. Although surrounded by fields, the campus is a fairly brutal concrete mini city with hardly any planted areas. Right outside the Main Hall entrance is a raised bed imaginatively planted up with grass, so the dandelions pictured here are from there. The leaves are tiny.

In winter I can still find dandelions, but they are little, hardy, low-lying things struggling to hold on over the cold months.

Coronation Street

2010-02-09T09:09:00.004Z

I don't know whether you've noticed, but when there's a double episode of Coronation Street, when the first one has finished and it says 'Coronation Street continues in half an hour' they often have a screen shot with a fantastic close-up of a dandelion on a back street.

(apart from last night acutally as it was an episode where Gail the chinless wonder and her husband, whatshisname - you know the one whose daughter used to go out with evil David (Gail's son) and I think she still works in The Cabin with Rita (where did Rita go?) go on a trip to the Lakes and he (Gail's husband) tries to fake his own death, quite successfully, I'd say. Oooh, poor Gail.)

The image here isn't from Coronation Street, if you're wondering, but another of my test cyanotypes with a dandelion form my backyard.

Rubber

2010-02-07T11:51:00.004Z

In January I got this email from Dr Christine Guth:

Dear Rebecca

A very happy new year to you!
I hope you are making good progress on your Japanese dandelion research. Perhaps you have already come across this information, but the January 2 issue of the Economist has an interesting article on a Russian variety of dandelion that may prove to be a new source of rubber! It's in the science and technology section, and naturally, when I read it, I thought of you!

All best
Christine

Funnily enough my subscription to Economist had just run out, so I hadn't read it. But Muffy's mum had told me the same thing earlier (see post USA Connection).
Here is the opening paragraph from the article in Economist:

Tremble, Michelin, Tremble.

Other than being an ingredient of the more recherche sorts of salad, herbal tea or wine, dandelions are pretty useless plants. Or, at least, they were. But one species, a Russian variety called Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS), may yet make the big time. It produces molecules of rubber in its sap and if two research programmes, one going on in Germany and one in America, come to fruition, it could supplement - or even replace - the traditional rubber tree, Heevea brasiliensis.

Incidental

2010-02-05T10:11:00.004Z

I went to London in December to look in the collections at the V&A and also the British Museum. I wanted to see if I could find the representation of dandelions in any of the objects on display.

I spent a whole day looking through the V&A collections: what a treat! I think I must have walked about 27 miles (and consequently came down with a severe case of 'gallery foot ').

I felt like I was on an expedition looking for specimens in an unlikely landscape.

I found a few dandelions in the collection - a tiny one on a medieval painting (no flower, just the leaves); one in bloom in the background of a huge tapestry; and the best was on a Japanese lacquered box.

The Japanese box was the jewel of my finds: it was getting towards the end of the day and I had scrutinised so many objects by then, and the two I'd already found were incidental background additions. The Japanese one was deliberate, beautiful and delicate. It was made by Ikeda Taishin and is a lacquered box for writing utensils dated 1870 - 1900. What a beautiful specimen and on a Japanese object too - it fits so well into my research so far.

I did take snapshots of the work, but I doubt I can post them on my blog - you'll just have to go on a trip and discover them for yourself.

While I was in London I was staying with my friend Neil. He studied at the V&A and he set up a meeting for me with Dr Christine Guth who works at the museum. Her particular field of study is Japanese design history so we had a lot to chat about and I had many questions for her. It was great to talk to her about the dandelion project and hear her thoughts and suggestions for reading material, people to contact and places to visit.

I was in London for a few days and on my return to Euston Station on the last day I decided to pop into the British Museum for a couple of hours. Obviously that's not even nearly enough time to explore the collection especially when its teaming with visitors (how inconvenient). So, I went straight to the Japanese collection. There on a vase, with two doves annoyingly blocking the view, was a pretty little dandelion! It is a vase by Namikawa Sosuke and made in around 1897. How exciting! No, really - I think that's exciting.

So my expedition to London went really well and I came away refreshed, inspired and with lots of stuff to think about.

Apomixis

2010-02-03T09:44:00.002Z

"Dandelions are not like most other plants. Within the British Isles, virtually all dandelions reproduce apomictically, that is they produce seed asexually, each seedling usually being an exact copy of its mother. Sexual reproduction in dandelions, if it occurs at all, is very rare in our islands"
AA Dudman & AJ Richards Dandelions of Great Britain and Ireland

USA Connection

2010-02-01T14:58:00.005Z

I emailed Muffy's mum, Mary (who lives in USA). I told her about the dandelion project and this is her reply:

Dear Rebecca

We have several kinds of dandelions here. The most prominent one is the common dandelion, taraxacum officinale, which was brought here by the early colonists from Europe. It was used for food, medicine and wine and was an important ingredient to their livelihood. Its popularity has waned through the centuries and is now an invasive plant, disliked by the majority.

I have always had an interest in dandelions and have studied every facet of their makeup and history. Healthwise, they contain vitamins and minerals galore! The leaves, blossoms, and roots are all edible, as well as medicinal. Each plant is a supermarket in itself. A few people still raise it for a vegetable and we have one town in Maine that has a canning factory that cans the leaves as greens, in the spring, when they are young and not bitter. A town in the state of New Jersey has a Dandelion Festival every spring. Farmers raise acres of dandelions and everyone gets into the spirit and helps with the preparations. Dandelions are prepared in every way you could imagine including deep fried blossoms, salads and lasagne!

The Russian dandelion, kok-saghyz, came to the United States during World War II. It has a much larger root with more latex. When the Japanese cut off our rubber supply, Russia sent us seeds of their dandelion so we could make our own rubber supply as they were doing. After the war, the plants were destroyed because it was not feasible when we could get back to our own rubber supply. That is another whole story that I have recorded for history.

Now I would like to hear about the printing side of the plant! I have rolled a brayer covered with paint over the underside of the leaves to get prints for teaching purposes, but that is my only experience in that direction!

I wonder if the invasive dandelion in Japan is the same as our common dandelion which came from England with the early settlers?

It was nice to hear from you.

Mary

Artlab and Connections

2010-01-31T14:03:00.004Z

When I was chatting with Lubaina Himid at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Preston, she suggested I might consider joining the Artlab Contemporary Print Studio based at the University of Central Lancashire.

Unless you count potato printing and a few attempts at lino cuts, i've never really done any printing. But, I thought i might be able to experiment with print while developing the dandelion project further.

Going to Artlab and learning this new skill has taught me a number of things:

I should have more patience - i'm not going to become a master printer within the anticipated 6 months (or 6 years for that matter)
It is unlikely that I will ever produce a run of prints numbering more than 3
I should have more patience - turning up and working for 4 hours does not guarantee going home with one good print
I have to look after my copper plates better - inexplicable scratches seem to mysteriously appear from nowhere
I should have more patience

One of the best things about going to Artlab has been meeting and chatting with other members in the group.
While chatting about the dandelion project with one fellow Artlab member called Muffy she mentioned that her mum, living in USA, was also really keen on dandelions and is on the board of the Pine Tree State Arboretum in Maine. She gave me her email address and we've been in contact.

The image here is the first print i'm happy to show - the first few were truely crap.

Sewing and TV

2010-01-31T10:24:00.003Z

I decided a while ago that I watch far too much TV in the evenings and I could be doing more productive things - like making art.

When I was little my mum showed me how to sew (both my parents sew for a living) and although I haven't done any for years I thought this would be a good way to spend time while still watching television (I couldn't quite give it up).

Spending hours stitching the outlines of dandelions has made me look so much closer - how intricate, delicate and variable this overlooked weed can be.

Missed Opportunities

2010-01-30T11:58:00.003Z

I went to Yorkshire Sculpture Park yesterday for a meeting and I was there from just before 11am until 3.30pm

It was one of those days where I really wanted to collect a couple of dandelion leaves, but things conspired against me and I came away empty handed. I was quite disappointed.

I've been to a few places in the past where I didn't have time to look for leaves, or sometimes I'm just too embarrassed to bob down in front of people i'm with (who don't know about the project) and come back up clutching two battered looking leaves.

On the way home yesterday I did have time in Leeds to leave the station and go along the river to find the two shown here. I saw a couple of Goosanders on the river too. That's nice.

Centre for Contemporary Art

2010-01-27T09:54:00.004Z

The Centre for Contemporary Art is based at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, Lancashire and is the home base for a large group of research projects. It is led by Lubaina Himid, Professor of Contemporary Art and I met with her last year to chat about the dandelion project and how I could and should start to archive my collection.

Why and how would I put an order to this ramdom collection of stuff i've collected over the past few years (i've also been collecting other bits of wildlife - dead bees, wasps, butterflies, spiders - but that's a whole new blog i think).

How will I decide to categorise and label everything? I keep wondering why i'm doing this - if there isn't a botanical use for my dandelion collection, how else, if at all, will it be used?

Freestyle archiving might be the way to go I think.

The image here is by Cecile M Driffield from a book by Gareth H Browning published in 1938 called Botany For Fun. Surely there should be a question mark on the end of that title.

Some Locations

2010-01-22T12:41:00.005Z

The dandelion diaries track where i've been throughout each year.
I've collected dandelion leaves from many different locations (in no particular order) :

Aberdeen, Barrow, Burnley, Toronto, Blackburn, Budapest, Berlin, Lancaster, Birmingham, Niagra, Munchen, Carnforth, Castlefield, Hebburn, Chorley, Leeds, Ulverston, Wigan, Amsterdam, Wirral, Lytham-St-Annes, Runcorn, Riedlingen, Warton, Morecambe, Preston, Nottingham, Harrogate, Uffing, Edinburgh, Manchester, London, Galgate, Eccleston, Sigmaringen, Gateshead, Liverpool, Clitheroe, Grasmere, Heysham, Coniston, Haworth, Castleford, Pendle and Penwortham. Plus a few others that aren't near any specific village / town / city.

All the collected dandelions are from particular spots in these places: friends gardens and back yards, museums, galleries, campsites, parks, my allotment, named streets, and alongside roads and rivers while taking walks.

Permission

2010-01-22T09:34:00.005Z

As I am planning to collect dandelion specimens while i'm in Japan and bring them back to UK, I thought i'd better check that it is allowed. So I sent an email to Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). This is their reply:

Ref:DWOE000153199
Dear Ms Chesney

Thank you for your email of 1 October.

Pressed and dried flowers are not Plant Health restricted. You will be able to bring the dandelions into the UK without Plant Health documentation providing they are free from pests.

I hope this is helpful.

Yours sincerely,

LW*
Customer Contact Unit
Defra

I'm pleased and quite relieved about this as I've collected specimens from other countries before and not sought permission until now. Good job it's OK then.

The image above is of my flower press made by Stephen (he used to work at Bolton Museum and made it for the poison project). I have 3 other presses: 2 made by my dad and 1 made by Mick.

*The sender gave their full name, but i thought it polite to use their initials instead.

Research Funding

2010-01-21T10:28:00.001Z

At the begining of 2009 I was talking with my friend Charles (my unofficial mentor) about the dandelion project and the research I had started and the connections i'd found with Japan. He encouraged me to think about applying for funding towards the project. After wrestling with an application for months - trying to articulate the aims, methods and possible outcome - I put it in for consideration in spring 2009 and waited. And waited.

3 months later I heard from Arts Council England : they had awarded me funds to go on a research trip to Japan to look at dandelions. How exciting!

So, my plan is to go to Japan to look for both Japanese and European dandelion specimens and also to look in museum collections to see if I can find the representation of dandelions in Japanese material culture.

Owen (the botanist) visited me in December for the weekend and he brought with him a massive book on the flora of Japan. There are over 20 species of Japanese dandelions and we decided the best time for me to go is in April. So, i've booked my flight for mid-April.
I fly to Tokyo, then i'm travelling to Hiroshima and to Kyoto, before returning to Tokyo. In this time I want to visit as many museum collections and botanical gardens as I can and to also try and collect specimens.

It happens to be the cherry blossom season while i'm there - bonus.

Trip

2010-01-19T16:35:00.000Z

I've just got back from a trip to Brantwood on Lake Coniston by public transport - it took 3 hours to get there and almost that long to get back too. I collected these dandelion leaves from St Andrews Church in Coniston village at lunchtime (i didn't get time to collect any from Brantwood itself, but have some from there on an earlier trip). I've now put them in a heavy book to press before I put one in the dandelion diary.

Today i also saw 4 Little Egrets, 3 black rabbits and 1 nun - you don't see that if you're driving.

Luck

2010-01-17T15:41:00.000Z

I'm a very lucky person: I have loads of great friends and I know lots of really interesting people that i've gathered throughout my life (i'm 32). One of my most favourite people on the whole planet is called Owen. He used to come and do plant surveys on a remote farm where I lived in the back of beyond years ago. He's a botanist.

Unfortunately for him it means that he gets masses of emails from me pestering for information, comments, plant ID (usually from slightly blurred photos) etc...
I'm not sure he always gets what i'm doing - there is no scientific value to the dandelion project, therefore why would you waste your time?

He sent me this email about the dandelion project:

The problem is that your collection has focussed on the variety and fantastic architectural diversity of dandelion leaves. The leaves are helpful in taxonomy but not reliable and the only way to be fairly sure which dandelion you have is to gather flowers in April.
I think most of your plants come from verges - which probably means that they are all part of the section Ruderalia, and many will probably be (accidental) introductions to the UK.

All is not lost, however. I'm copying this to my friend K W*, who used to work with us at Monks Wood but is now a key person in the BSBI. He's done some work on dandelions himself and may be able to suggest better than I can how best to progress with getting to grips with dandelions - and indeed whether you can use your leaf collection at all.

Take care
Much love
Owen XXX

Hmmm - what is the point of my leaf collection? Owen thinks there might not be a use for it at all, but surely that's only in a botanical sense.

* I wanted to protect the identity of the innocent, hence using initials and not their full name.

Japanese link

2010-01-17T11:39:00.000Z

So, I was having a conversation with someone about the dandelion project and they mentioned an article they'd read in The Times that reported that the European dandelion was now considered an alien invasive species in Japan.

With further research I found that it has spread to many parts of Japan, particularly in urban and sub-urban areas, as it sucessfully out-competes the native Japanese species. Because the European dandelion is apomictic (it dosen't need pollinating before it sets seed), negative effects are incurred by native dandelions that do need to be pollinated before producing seeds.

I've read a few journals from various institutes in Japan that have conducted studies: The School of Human Science, Waseda University, Japan; National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Ibaraki, Japan; and the Laboratory of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kinki University, Nara, Japan.

I wonder if they do T-shirts from Kinki Uni? I want one if they do.

Variety

2010-01-15T11:56:00.000Z

After a little general research into dandelions I have become more and more interested.
The Kew website says:

"As most British dandelions produce fruit without being fertilised (they are apomictic), substantial problems arise with the taxonomy of these plants. This group is complex consisting of around 200 microspecies, and is typically treated as a species aggregate, denoted as Taraxacum officinale agg. The dandelion is a perennial plant, and flowers throughout the year. Dandelions have deep taproots, and the whole plant contains a milky fluid known as latex. The flowerheads close at night, and can produce around 2,000 wind-dispersed fruits. Plants can also regenerate from pieces of the taproot."

There is also a really great book Dandelions of Great Britain and Ireland by AA Dudman and AJ Richards which gives loads of information:

"the number of native Taraxacum species known in Britain and Ireland probably doesn't exceed 150. Because of the ease of spread of wind-blown seeds, the proximity to Continental Eurpoe and the rediness of dandelions to prosper in man-made environments, there is a steady import of continental species, mostly in the Section Ruderalia, and this accounts for the larger number of some 235 species recorded from the British Isles".

I'm not especially interested in identifying all the different species I find - i'm not sure if i'd be any good at this really difficult subject, plus that's not really why i'm doing the dandelion project in the first place.

The image above is of a specimen sheet I produced for John Fox and Sue Gill at the Beach House in Baycliff. It shows some of the different dandelion leaves I collected around the site while there in May 2009.

Rare glimpse inside the dandelion diary

2010-01-14T16:23:00.000Z

In keeping with most diaries, I don't like to show them to anyone: I'm often not where I said I would be! This is a page view from 2008 - no secrets revealed here.

Diary

2010-01-14T15:38:00.000Z

I have a particular type of diary that I like to present my collected dandelions in.
For 2008 and 2009 Thomas Saible painted the covers for me. It makes them very beautiful on the outside. However, they are a bit messy on the inside and my hand writing is (and always has been) rubbish.

I'll collect a dandelion leaf from anywhere I visit - well anywhere I remember to collect one.

I don't like to travel with the dandelion diary as it's too precious. Because of this I often tuck leaves away in my sketchbook, but forget they are there until weeks later; or in my wallet between credit cards... hmmm - you'd think i'd worked out a good method by now.
I actually collect 2 leaves from each plant - one for the diary and the other for the dandelion archive (which, at this point, is still a figment of my imagination).

Labelling

2010-01-11T17:14:00.000Z

"A specimen without a label is useless"

"It is impermissible to press a plant, let alone to send it to anyone else, without a proper label, preferably in permanent ink, dark pencil or typed, giving as an absolute minimum the habitat, locality, grid reference, vice-county, date, collector's name, flower colour and habit"
Arthur O. Chater, Collecting and Pressing Specimens.

A specimen without a label is only useless to a botanist. But i'm not a botanist, i'm an artist. So i've made my own labels and use my own system of catergorising.

(The label here shows an image of Hemlock Conium maculatum on it - i do have a label with dandelion leaves, but i can't be bothered to look for it on my computer - sorry)

Dandelion Project

2010-01-06T14:18:00.000Z

This is the beginning of my blog about the Dandelion Project, but the project has been running for a couple of years or more already (mainly in my head).

I think it started in early 2006 when I decided to conduct a weed survey in Preston city centre (for an art exhibition). I found over 70 different plant species in a small urban area - in cracks in the pavement, down gutters, on roof tops etc. I was interested in how species adapt to the harsh environment of the urban landscape, but also found that some species thrive in it too.
Dandelions were one of the top in numbers, and I noticed that many had different shaped leaves and were very variable. Perhaps this is where the Dandelion Project started?

The following year I was lucky enough to be invited to make new artwork for an exhibition at Bolton Museum and Art Gallery where I met with Patricia Francis - Keeper of Botany at the Museum. She showed me how to collect, press and present specimens. It was then that I started to collect dandelion leaves and press them. At first there was no order to the collection and I didn't really label them at all, but at the start of 2008 I started to devise my own methods of labelling and proceeded to use a diary to document where and when they had been collected.