STORY BEHIND THE ART OF KAREN COLEMAN

Wildly Exquisite: Florida’s Native Plants

Mutual Attraction

Lonicera sempervirens and Archilochus colubris

Coral or trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, is a semi-evergreen vine with lovely coral-to-red tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. It is native to many states on the east coast, from Maine to Florida, and west to Texas. In Florida it is an evergreen, retaining its smooth, oblong, bright green leaves throughout the year. As a twining vine, it can grow very high and also trail along the ground. This beautiful, climbing vine, with its showy flowers, is a wonderful addition to anyone’s garden and is a great choice for arbors.

I have a deep affection for the coral honeysuckle plant that creates a winding mass around the lamppost near my front door in Virginia. In late Spring, the ruby-throated hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris, always return to the nectar in the flowers. Every year, when the dance between bird and flower begins, it appears to me as a mutual reaching-out to one another. This is what inspired me to create the work and call it “Mutual Attraction.”

Planting and using native plants in the landscape is critical to maintaining the necessary balance between plant and animal life. There are many beautiful, native plant options that are easy to maintain and offer essential benefits to wildlife and the environment. Coral honeysuckle is a wonderful alternative to the very invasive, imported, Japanese honeysuckle, which is taking over roadsides and strangling whole forests in the eastern U.S. I hope that my drawing of the Lonicera sempervirens will inspire others to make this lovely perennial part of their gardens.

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Read more about this artist’s work: Out of the Woods