I am beginning a one year wildflower envisioning event. For the next three hundred and sixty five days I am going to post to my twitter account, @KevinSonger, a photo or an illustration of a wildflower I encounter in body or mind.
Berlandiera subacaulis, Florida greeneyes, Kevin Songer
Today’s wildflower is Berlandiera subacaulis, Florida greeneyes.
My teen son who is a senior in high school this year is the one I owe credit to for visioning inspiration.
Ruairi was discussing quantum physics the other day over dinner, informing us how particles could be waves and even exist in two places at the same time. A lively talk about multiple universes and realities ensued and I went to bed totally confused.
Since then I’ve dreamed of dualistic worlds, one where concrete and asphalt and a variegated Mexican petunia crossed with crotons dominates the landscape, and the other reality a one with pine straw lined curving pathways through botanical wildflower wonderlands.
I quickly tired of the “too sticky sweet” sense of the neon croton-petunia color flowers. I also found myself never getting enough of the wildflower exploration times.
Yesterday Judy took me to Koreshan State Historic Site on the Estero River. I am so very grateful to the State of Florida for the excellent job they do in providing access to natural areas for the public. If you ever get the chance to visit Koreshan, do so.
The Korashen community held many strange ideas, such as the universe existing inside the earth which was really a bubble. This concept was even more difficult for me to grasp than quantum physics. Yet there were drawings and sketches and all kinds of ‘proofs’ depicting their scientific beliefs in the theater building turned museum.
Even more mind boggling were the strange species of trees and plants from around the world planted along the wild, dark Estero River.
But despite the magnificence of the Koreshan exotic flora, plants I’d never seen in my life, I felt a certain uneasiness. It was like I was back in the Mexican petunia-croton dream.
Thick, dense patches of the huge bamboo stands replacing native red mangroves along Estero’s banks seemed more like a prop scene out of a surrealistic movie. Soon, feeling like a stranger in a strange land, I was ready to leave.
Earlier, as we had entered the park I’d noticed a fire maintained pine flatwoods area full of Florida native wildflowers. As we were leaving Judy agreed to walk into the area with our phone cameras as we both love wildflower photography. Here was the wildflower wonderland. All shades of late summer purples and yellows and white and reds and you name it. At least as many hues as the dreamy bad multi-color crotons but in a much more peaceful environment (actually I have very good childhood memories of crotons).
This was quantum physics in action I told myself, fudging a bit on the real science of two realities existing at the same time.
Choosing a native plants and wildflowers based universe is easy for me – just as it is for the importantly beneficial insects and pollinators.
We both felt so refreshed and inspired after our hike into the native flatwoods.
The hike has been our choice. Koreshan held two realities, both existing simultaneously in my fudging of the quantum science. One was a strange world of exotic plants and celibacy, the other world an even more amazing wildflower wonderland.
At the end of the day I did not find any long lasting connection to the Korshan’s universe in a bubble theory, nor their beautiful but alien looking plants. The monkey tree, Araucaria araucana, was unusually striking but I am not sure I’d want it growing in our patio side yard. The celibacy thing was certainly not kosher.
Had we not hiked into saw palmetto flatwoods we’d have missed the wildflower wonderland. Two realities. We choose how and where we want to exist. With wildflowers or without wildflowers.
So here we begin a year long journey of envisioning wildflowers through short, one minute tweets that hopefully spread seed of beautiful new blooming wildflower realities around the world. Join me twitter.com/kevinsonger and add your wildflower visions!
© 2015, Kevin Songer. All rights reserved. This article is the property of Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. We have received many requests to reprint our work. Our policy is that you are free to use a short excerpt which must give proper credit to the author, and must include a link back to the original post on our site. Please use the contact form above if you have any questions.