Dandelions

They look good to me!! Why do we spend so much time, money, and toxic chemicals to get rid of them? "There appear to be three dominant perspectives on weeds: agricultural-ranching, suburban, and ecological…..The suburban perspective considers any plant a weed if it invades the lawns and gardens of suburban homeowners and other managed landscapes of mainstream society, which includes the lawns and gardens of banks, schools, churches, malls, government buildings, industrial parks, etc. In the context of this perspective, plants are valueless weeds unless they have been made available through the mass market and have price tags attached. The ideal plant of the managed landscape in suburbia has the following characteristics: 1) It is an introduced species that is poorly adapted to the surrounding environment. 2) It is a sterile hybrid or patented cultivar. 3) It is difficult to maintain and often short-lived. 4) It doesn't spread readily to places where it doesn't belong. 5) It has obvious aesthetic or culinary properties. 6) It has to be purchased at a store or through a catalog. The weediness of a plant is defined by the absence of the preceding characteristics. Thus, suburbia considers any plant a weed that is well-adapted to its environment, prone to reproduce itself and spread, requires little or no effort to maintain, has no obvious aesthetic or culinary properties, and doesn't require money to acquire." http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/files/weed_definitions.htm