Yellow-green spring in the nature park Almenland
May 01 to 11, 2025
When the snow is still on the mountain pastures and the first green tips of the crocuses are appearing, a sea of flowers is already spreading in the valleys: the bright yellow of the dandelion meadows combines with the white of the blossoming trees and the blue sky above to create a magnificent spring symphony. This is the time of the dandelion festival - the yellow-green spring in the nature park Almenland!
Under the motto "spring-fresh cuisine", the Almenland hosts invite you to enjoy creative, spring-like dishes. Whether dandelion burgers, dandelion gröstl, dandelion dumplings with spinach sauce, hiking snacks, energy drinks and much more. If you prefer to enjoy your meal in the spring sunshine at a picnic area or rest stop, you can pre-order your food from the hosts and pick it up. This is best combined with a hike through the nature park or a visit to an excursion destination.
The dandelion (Leondon officinale) is a cosmopolitan native to meadows and along roadsides throughout the northern hemisphere. It owes its name to its strongly serrated leaves, which are reminiscent of a lion's sharp teeth. After flowering, it is particularly popular with children and is known as the "dandelion". Teas, tinctures and pressed juice are used as a cure for detoxification, but also for gout and rheumatism or diabetes.
In earlier times, dandelions played an important role in the kitchen - when fresh vegetables were particularly important after the long winters. The whole plant is edible, the young leaves were served as "Röhrlsalat". The blossoms were mixed with sugar to make "dandelion honey" and the buds were pickled in salt and vinegar as a substitute for capers. With the trend towards eating more wild herbs, dandelions were also rediscovered. There are now a large number of tasty recipes around the plant.
If you have a dandelion heart, you look at a dandelion and see not a weed, but God's good creation: leaves that you can eat, a bright yellow flower that turns into a white ball with little seed umbrellas, the wind or a blow gently floating through the air. Those who have a dandelion heart look at other people and do not see a problem, but God's creature. If you have a dandelion heart, you like people, even if they are difficult!
Text: Maria K. Moser
Tourismusverband Oststeiermark
Nature Park Office Almenland
Fladnitz 100
8163 Fladnitz an der Teichalm
Phone: 0043 3179/23000
E-mail: almenland (at) oststeiermark. com
