Colored X-ray photo of dandelion flowers

© Arie van 't Riet/Science Photo Library

Colored X-ray photo of dandelion flowers

This quote comes from the American poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and we think she’s on to something. Take the dandelion–which is pulled, tossed, and trampled by many a gardener. It’s packed with nutrients (the entire plant is edible) and serves as a good companion plant in the garden, where it attracts pollinators and adds minerals to the soil. And the dandelion can be beautiful, too, as in this colored x-ray photograph. That’s something to consider on National Weed Your Garden Day (yes, that’s today). So, as Wilcox writes in her poem ‘The Weed,’ ‘Go dig, and prune, and guide, and wait.’