The Poetry Page

Ode to Ragweed

by Rhonda Haavisto

'Tis the sneezin' season

  and to this I say...Ah Choo!

Ambrosia artemisiifolia

  your pollen I eschew!

You spew a quarter billion tons

  of pollen in the air,

While unsuspecting noses

  become 'flowers' unaware.

Oh stinkweed, sneezeweed, blackweed,

  you're a tassled carrotweed.

Why were you called ambrosia?

  you bitter, stinking sneeze!

I've learned about your virtues

  to patch, preserve and heal,

To fill the voids we'd leave behind

  with fire, flood or man-moved earth.

You've healed the earth and Native man,

  produced green dyes, and more!

Oh! Ragweed's not a 'bad' weed,

  unless I go outdoors!  Ah Choo!

Sept. 1998

includes a small offering of original poetry, poesies and quotes, plus links to nature-inspired poetry and quotes.

Herb or 'erb'?

  don't be disturbed

About the way

  to say this word.

Pronounce the H,

  or let it drop;

Botanically

  it matters not.

These useful plants,

  do so delight,

They'd be amused

  about our plight.

So say it Herb,

  or just say 'erb'

Whatever which-way

  you'd prefer!

-Rhonda Haavisto

Spirit of Gardening

Weed Control

Since the best way of weeding

Is to prevent weeds from seeding

The least procrastination

Of any operation

To prevent the semination

of Noxious vegetation

Is a source of tribulation.

And this, in truth, a fact is

Which gardeners ought to practice

And tillers should remember

From April to December.

Samual Deane

[Quote from New England Farmer, 1797]

This is a special garden,

  filled with wonders to behold.

With flowers wild, and creatures small,

  and angels watching o'er it all.

--Rhonda Haavisto

."...the love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies, but always grows and grows to an enduring and ever-increasing source of happiness."

-Gertrude Jekyll

"When I pick or crush in my hand a twig of Bay, or brush against a bush of Rosemary, or tread upon a tuft of Thyme...I feel that here is all that is best and purest and most refined, and nearest to poetry in the range of faculty of the sense of smell."

-Gertrude Jekyll

Biodiversity 

by Rhonda Haavisto       

Grass at a distance is greener it seems

  but I'm glad we chose bio-di-ver-sity.

We've violets for fragrance, sweet clover for bees

  our  Lions are dandy and sway in the breeze.

Sweet woodruff for Mai bowls, with strawberry treats

  when Veronica's blue, Ajuga blows sweet.

Charlie creeps in, and the Johnnys-jump-up

  Thyme lays a carpet, and Moss makes a rug.

Herb Robert was here, now he's way over there,

  and mowing the grass seems the least of our cares.

When they all go to seed, we'll give them a trim

  then we'll wait a few weeks and trim them again.

Grass at a distance is greener it seems,

  but I'm still glad we chose bio-di-ver-sity!

June 2002

Goldenrod and ragweed bloom at the same time, which has given goldenrod the undeserved reputation of being an allergen. Goldenrod's only 'crime' is to bloom when ragweed pollen is in the air.

Ask your doctor.

Under the Leaf

a book of garden poetry by J.E. Janssen.

This book contains 80 pages of garden poetry. Click on the link above to read a sample poem.Sales from this book benefit the National Herb Garden in Washington, D.C.

Being happy is dirt under your fingernails, wearing old clothes, having a good idea get better the longer you work at it, starting a new bed, giving plants away, and listening to rain. --Geoffrey B. Charlesworth