With springtime upon us, it’s time for everything to start blooming again. Trees, grass, and plants all burst to life with the warm weather. However, this also means the growth of every gardener’s enemy: dandelions. Most people view dandelions as pesky weeds and try their best to kill them. However, these little golden bursts can be extremely beneficial to our friends, the bees.

As you may know, the bees are not doing too hot. Their numbers are dwindling, and this is a big deal. We need bees if we want to eat—they pollinate just about every fruit and vegetable we consume. It’s very important that we keep these little guys around.

In the spring, dandelions are one of the first things to pop up. Their bright yellow color attracts bees and their large numbers provide easy access for bees to feed. Keeping dandelions in your yard or garden (at least until other flowers begin to bloom) can be an easy way to provide bees with food while other plants start growing. Dandelions give bees food before their other food is available.

So before you pick up the weed killer this spring, consider keeping dandelions around a little longer. It’s a way of giving bees food now so they can give you food later. And maybe, just maybe, you will begin to appreciate the vibrant yellow blossoms a little more.