Japanese Dandelion Stamp

I've collected quite a few postage stamps with Dandelions on for the Dandelion Archive: and here are some from Japan. According to a website about stamps they depict a 'Smaller Green Flower Chafer (Oxycetonia jucunda) on Dandelion' and were issued in 1997. 

Dandelion Postcard

I got this postcard for the Dandelion Archive a while ago - it's by Judges Ltd, a company based in Hastings. It's a funny little image with a beautiful dandelion in flower and in seed, with tiny figures of a frog and a child holding an individual seed each. On the back it is addressed to a Master R Wheway in York from Alison and is postmarked 1937.

Estonian First Day Cover Dandelion

This Estonian first day cover from 2004 has been donated to the Dandelion Archive - thanks!

Written on the stamp is Harilik võilill Taraxacum officinale and it was designed by Lembit Lõhmus. The issue of these stamps in September 2004 marked the beginning of self adhesive stamps in Estonia - according to the Estonia National Museum website: 

www.erm.ee

Covid19 Dandelion

I've found an instance where an image of a dandelion is being used in connection to Covid-19.

I was looking up travel restrictions and rules etc for travelling in Europe and as I was checking details on the Belgium government website I noticed their use of a dandelion image on the Coronavirus news page. 

I'm still trying to work it out what the connection is between Covid-19 and dandelions.

Hague's Dandelion and Burdock

I was given this drink label a while ago for the Dandelion Archive. Charles Hague of Parkgate was a family business based in Yorkshire running from 1950's until 1980's and this is their Dandelion and Burdock pop label. Looking online for more infomation about the company it seems that it was run by the dad of William Hague (former Conservative MP). Despite this nugget of information, I do like the design with its bold illustration of a dandelion.

Eire Dandelion (in the background) Postage Stamp

Dandelions are often not the main focus of an artwork and instead they are in the background. It is quite hard to search for items with dandelions as they are not listed in the description of the object. The result is hours of internet trawling - an addiction trying to hunt them out.
Here is an example of this: a postage stamp from Eire (Ireland) issued in 1994 showing a  gorgeous Garden Tiger Moth - on a Dandelion.  It doesn't seem easy to find the artist's name, but one source has listed the illustrater as I Loe. I can't find confirmation of this, plus I can't find much information on I Loe either... sorry about that.
The stamp, from a series of four showing different moths, is now safely in the Dandelion Archive.

Mongolia Dandelion Postage Stamp (another one)

Here is another of my Dandelion Stamps in the archive. Issued in 1985, it's another one from Mongolia and has the latin name Taraxacum officinale on it. Again, I can't find the artist's name. Mongolia seem to like dandelions on stamps - this is one of three different ones i've found so far. 
I can feel a trip to Mongolia coming on.... (when coronavirus allows etc).

Mongolia Dandelion Postage Stamp

I've put a few postage stamps with Dandelions on this blog before - ones from Germany, Ireland, Estonia, Poland and Iceland. 
I've continued to collect stamps with Dandelions for the archive and this one here is one of my favourites, mainly because of the triangular shape. Issued in Mongolia in 1973 it shows a lovely image of Taraxacum mongolicum. I can't find much information on the stamp, the artist for example, but i'll keep looking. The stamp is from a series on wild flowers.
I did find that Taraxacum mongolicum has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a long time with it's mineral elements being very rich.

Albrecht Dürer's Dandelion

I visited Vienna in November last year and while wandering around the city I saw this building wrap showing perhaps one of the most famous dandelions in the art world. Advertising an exhibition at the Albertina Museum it shows Albrecht Dürer's watercolour The Great Piece of Turf painted in 1503.  With so many amazing museums in Vienna, I didn't go to the Albertina this time (I have been years ago and saw the painting then), but i was very glad to see it reproduced so big for all to enjoy. 
I wonder what they did with the building wrap? That would be a great addition to the Dandelion Archive...

Dandelion fields

We are currently in a semi lockdown here because of the coronavirus pandemic (I say 'semi' because we are allowed to go out for exercise, shopping, getting medical prescriptions and, it would seem by the amount of traffic on the roads, pretty much anything else too). 
So, for the last 6 weeks I have only been able to walk locally for my daily exercise. Although I only have a tiny back yard I'm lucky where I live as it's situated on the edge of the city, near a river and where there are a good number of walks where you don't see too many other people.
Yesterday evening we went for a walk in the fields at the back of the house. The birds were beginning their evening song and the smell of the new hawthorn blossom was warm and strong. And the best sight of all was a field of dandelions looking so beautiful in the soft evening light, the many seed heads aglow in the sunshine. An uplifting sight in these times of isolation and uncertainty. 

Dandelionfest on Wildflower Hour

It's #Dandelionfest this week on Wildflowerhour on Sunday 19th April 2020
Go to @wildflower_hour on Twitter to post your photos of dandelions and if you need help to identify some of the micro species.
Great idea!

Dandelion Jumpsuit

I know i've not updated the Dandelion Blog in ages, but it doesn't mean i'm not still collecting information about them or items for the archive, i've just been incredibly busy.
So, i'm going to try and make more of an effort to do more blog posts this year... starting with a snapshot I took last year in a NY gallery of a woman in a jumpsuit with a rather gorgeous dandelion design all over it. Fabulous darling!