I was standing on the porch, admiring my clouds of golden daffodils, when a little boy on a bicycle with training wheels came peddling past the end of the hedge. Seeing all the flowers, some temptingly close to the road, he climbed off his bike and ran forward. When his dad tried to discourage him, the child called out to me in an excited, determined voice, "Can I pick a flower for my mom?"

"It's OK," the father assured me, ready to deliver a lesson about private property. But before he could, I said, "Yes! Pick one from that thick clump in the middle."

The boy went back up the road with a bright yellow blossom bobbing in his fist and a smile covering as much of his face as I could see under his bike helmet. And I wished I'd told him to pick an armful.

It was the "for my mom" that got to me. Children love to give their mother -- or grandmother -- flowers.

I was immediately transported back in memory to preschool days and picking handfuls of dandelions for my grandma. She always greeted them with joy and gratitude, as if I'd given her orchids or roses and together we'd put them in a juice glass filled with water and set them on the table.

I'll bet the little boy on the bike would have been just as happy picking dandelions for his mom, but mine weren't blooming yet.

I have great fondness for dandelions to this day, as I'm sure most children do instinctively. Adults never stop a kid from picking dandelions. The golden blossoms smell nice and tickle your nose, and braided together, make great crowns and necklaces. Magically, they turn into silvery globes you can blow on to send seeds floating into space, just like you blow on birthday candles and get wishes.

Dandelions are feisty little plants that will grow anywhere, with nutritious, edible leaves, flowers that can be made into wine and seeds that goldfinches swoop down and eat -- gold on gold. And they're free! A plus for people who like green lawns is that, due to the deep taproot,

their leaves stay green throughout a drought, while grass turns brown and "ugly."

Grass lawns are useful for holding down the dust and are great to walk on. But "weed free" lawns are an invention of chemical companies. Nowhere in nature does such a monoculture exist without extreme repressive measures.

With legislation pending banning pesticides for vanity use on lawns across Ontario, I hope more people make friends with my grandmother's favourite flower. Bumblebees, butterflies, toads, children, moms and grandmas -- we'll all be healthier and happier for it.

Nature queries: mcarney@interlinks.net or 905-725-2116.