Florida Haiku and Short Verse

Tuesday nature poetry,  Fragrant water lily, Nymphaea odorata Florida Nature Haiku & Art, Fragrant Water Lily by Kevin Songer … sweeter scent none else shallow blue fishing spot blooms bugs and bass … lazy kayaking lily pads circle round and round floating two eyed log …

Florida nature poetry for Monday, Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) Florida Nature Poetry & Art, Purple Coneflower by Kevin Songer ... too many’s a crowd genetic diversity is survival’s key purple coneflower displays its finest array intently seeking long distant bee for random cross pollination ... Florida field of Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower by Kevin Songer Purple coneflower depends on long distance bees to spread pollen across hectares, enhancing genetic biodiversity.  In turn, bees profit from Echinacea's nectar sustenance. 

Florida Wildflower Haiku & Art, Lyre Leaf Sage, Salvia lyrata Florida Wildflower Haiku & Art, Lyre Leaf Sage, Salvia lyrata by Kevin Songer ... native purple blooms hummingbirds steal a sip and chase off butterflies … Lyre-leaf sage is a Florida native and drought tolerant wildflower I see growing across lawns, along roadsides, in fields, meadows and under the forest canopy. Lyre-leaf sage leaves are lyre-like in shape with deep purple and green colorings. Their light blue flowers provide nectar for hummers and butterflies. The over-lapping leaves of adjacent lyre leaf sage plants keep other weeds down and provide a neat, well-cropped perennial native ground cover appearance. Lyre leaf sage has been one of my favorite and most reliable green roof plants. Lyre leaf sage has also been used traditionally as a cancer cure. This healing practice was based on a theory that because the plant quickly spread, creating densely populated patches, it must be a natu...

Florida Wildflower Haiku (Senryu), Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra Florida Wildflower Haiku, Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra by Kevin Songer …  limestone rock croppings bees butterflies skipper art rose gentian drawn … Tarkiln Bayou State Park, Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra by Kevin Songer Rose gentian has about a dozen different species found throughout Florida (Sabatia spp.).  Tarkiln Bayou State Park, Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra by Kevin Songer Rose gentian’s flowers are rich in purple and pink hues. When in full summer bloom, Sabatia can fill a roadside drainage swale with incredible swaths of pink and purple.  Tarkiln Bayou State Park, Marsh Rose Gentian, Sabatia dodecandra by Kevin Songer Some accounts may exist where early settlers dried Sabatia root and then brewed a chicory-like coffee with the plant parts. This may be a historical carry over from traditions in Europe where the same...

Florida Wildflower Haiku - Short Verse for Sunday, Wild petunia, Ruellia caroliniensis Florida Wildflower Haiku - Short Verse & Art, Wild Petunia, Ruellia caroliniensis by Kevin Songer …  purple bloom nectar attracts pollinators all, far into scrub woods … Wild petunia is always a surprise to discover growing in the woods as the plant and flower brings an aura of nice-neat cultivation to rough and ramble undergrowth. Wild petunia is a cousin of the more invasive Mexican petunia yet wild petunia is a prized Florida native wildflower and does not grow in an invasive manner. The common buckeye and white peacock butterflies seek out wild petunia as larval host plant.

Florida Nature Poetry for Sunday, Sandhill Milkweed, Asclepias humistrata Florida Wildflower Haiku, Sandhill Milkweed, Asclepias humistrata by Kevin Songer ... dunes' brilliant hot white blooms adorn blinding sands pollinators feast ...

Wildflower Haiku for Florida Saturday morn.  'Hummer Across Beach Dunes'. Florida Wildflower and Wildlife Haiku by Kevin Songer Gaillardia, Helianthus, Coral Bean & wayward Green Violetear on the dunes ... peaceful sand dunes bees buzz, gulls cry, waves crash and   hummer’s roar startles ...

Florida Wildflower Poetry, False Foxglove Senryu, Agalinis purpurea Florida Wildflower Haiku - Senryu Short Verse Art, False Foxglove by Kevin Songer … false foxglove marsh ruby throated hummingbird charm break sonic sound barrier … False foxglove's mauve blooms in mass covering a wet field are truly a spectacular sight in color and texture.   False foxglove (Agalinis spp.) can be seen growing along roadsides, in cleared or disturbed lots and pastures or fields.  The plant prefers slightly damp, sandy soils.  As with other trumpet shaped flowers, False foxglove’s blooms are sought out by hummingbirds.  Did you know a group of hummingbirds is called a 'charm'.  Charming!

Gallberry-Inkberry, Ilex glabra Gallberry (aka Inkberry) Ilex glabra by Kevin Songer … munch inkberry drupes old turkey, possum and deer sport smeared purple lips … Gallberry is also known as inkberry, and its dark black juice filled berries have been used by peoples over generations as ink. Birds and wildlife relish the berries for forage. Early settlers and indigenous peoples have made a tea similar to yaupon tea from gallberry’s leaves (see Appalachian tea). Interestingly, gallbladder is a holly like yaupon however gallberry’s leaves do not contain the significant amount of caffeine that yaupon leaves possess. Gallberry’s flowers attract bees from afar. Gallberry honey is highly prized by many.

Wildflower Haiku, Rayless sunflower, Helianthus radula Floria Wildflower Haiku Art, Rayless Sunflower, Helianthus radula by Kevin Songer … wet ditch oddity deep maroon pyres reach high swallowtails alight ... Rayless sunflower is a bit of an oddity standing erect like black eyed Susans and echinacea but lacking petals. Rayless sunflower’s head is composed of a collection of small brown florets and the plant is a member of the Helianthus (sunflower) genus. I usually see rayless sunflower growing alongside of wet drainage ditches and along the margins of shallow sloping ponds. Despite a lack of petals, rayless sunflower attracts many different pollinators. I find the plant’s stark structural appearance to be an interesting addition to a wet area landscape and an inspiration for nature art.

Always too much of a hurry I'm in.  The rush towards finish line and next project contributed largely in part to my aortic dissection (along with genetic tendencies). Haiku and Wildflowers, both are forever evolving, Kevin Songer Being present in the moment and Zen are practices I am still learning of, wanting to tap into their health benefits.  Health practitioners speak of cardiovascular, mental and life quality gains to be had through focusing on breathing and the here and now. And so writing short verse opens doors leading to an understanding of life's meaning.  Being still and knowing the cosmos are magically penultimate.  I use the word 'magically' to mean 'ever changing, not-constant and unknowable. Life is refined daily through natural selection processes.  Nature does this.  Humans do this too with hybrid crops and domestic animals. Perfection doesn't exist.  There is always an unfolding. My haiku, or short verse also teaches me abo...

Weekend Catesby Lily Short Verse Pineland lily, Lilium catesbaei, Kevin Songer ... flames in the flatwoods fire in the wiregrass wet soil quenches not ... Damp soil pine flatwoods are such a special place and this is where I usually see Catesby lily growing en masse.  Catesby lily flower is one of the largest lily flowers native to North America.  Brilliant hues of orange, yellow and red attract a number of pollinators to the top of stems reaching up above wiregrass below.  Pineland lily is truly an amazing Florida native wildflower.

Florida Wildflower Poetry, Railroad Vine, Kevin Songer Railroad Vine … bright nectar filled cups moths, wasps, ants and bees seek oceanfront diner … Railroad vine, Ipomoea pes-caprae is also known as 'beach morning glory' and 'goat's foot', the latter name deriving from goat-foot shaped leaves on the vine. Salt tolerant railroad vine is an amazing native wildflower growing in primary dunes, often straight down the beach towards the surf.  Look closely and you may see thousands of pollinators buzzing about railroad vine's luminescent purple flowers.  This vine is an important beach-side insect, butterfly, small mammal and bird food source. Railroad vine's common name probably arose from the vine's long straight reaches, with leaves and flowers jutting out to each side much like a long straight run of railroad tracks, helping stabilize primary and beachfront sand dunes.  Drought and salt tolerant, this native wildflower makes a great se...

Sea beans ... prickly liana spiny pods nest lustrous beans, wait for sea pearls' fall ... Gray Nickerbean, Caesalpina bonduc, Kevin Songer Florida Nature Artist Rare Miami Blue and Nickerbean Blue butterfly larvae feed heavily of the foliage of Gray Nickerbean whose seed pods are as outrageously beautiful as the lustrous seeds nested inside.  The maritime loving Gray Nickerbean liana aggressively grows into a rambling, impenetrable hedge before flowering and dropping its gray beans onto the seashore.  With the seasons, tides and sargassum flotsam, Gray Nickerbeans travel around the world, carried hence by La Mar.  Sea Beans, also know as Sea Pearls have been used by peoples for jewelry, medicine and artisan wood inlays for millennia. 

Wednesday Night Florida short verse is a blanketflower fantasy. ... midnight beach party gaillardia spins moonbeams for dune critter disco ... Dune Critter Midnight Disco by Kevin Gaillardia pulchella & Anole by Kevin

Florida Haiku, Short Verse and Wildflowers by Kevin ... if I were a gopher gaillardia would be my favorite home decor ... Gaillardia pulchella, limited signed prints by Kevin email fmi

Mandala aster blooms and dragonflies, Kevin Songer Nature Art ... haiku composition inspiration just outside morning aster blooms ...

Thistle, Cirsium spp. ... looks are deceiving bull thistle's naughty habits are swallowtail's delight ... Across Florida, I see more swallowtails feeding off thistle flowers than almost any other roadside wildflower.

Toadflax and sorrel, Linaria canadensis and Rumex spp. ... toad flax and sour weed roadside kaleidoscope mower comes too soon ...

... fruit frog eyelash high turkey leg vines wrap, purple green earth trip trap ...