I endured the heat just long enough to harvest more eggplants and tomatoes, pretty much the only thing besides peppers still surviving. It was feeling a bit depressing, pretty normal for me this time of year. I really hate watching everything die and/or get over-taken by the pernicious grasses and vines, which thrive in the heat while I wither.
And then I saw it! Instantaneous mood booster: the first passion flower from a variety given by a friend, which I’ve planted in numerous locations. Stunning!
That got me thinking, and rummaging through my photo files for all things purple.
Of course we know purple is the color of nobility. I remember reading somewhere that’s because the dye was so expensive that only royalty could afford it. So I looked it up.
According to AI, that is true.
Tyrian purple was among the original most-favored, called Imperial purple, originating in Tyre, ancient Phoenicia, which is modern-day Lebanon.
From Wiki:
The pigment was expensive and time-consuming to produce, and items coloured with it became associated with power and wealth. This popular idea of purple being elite contributes to the modern day widespread belief that purple is a “royal colour”. The colour of textiles from this period provides insight into socio-cultural relationships within ancient societies, in addition to providing insights on technological achievements, fashion, social stratification, agriculture and trade connections.
Tyrian purple – Wikipedia
Poke berries stain purple, but I guess that was not the proper shade for Byzantine royalty? Or perhaps it just sounded more elegant to them that the proper shade required monumental manual labor to extract the dye from special snails sacrificed for their purpose of pleasure for the leisure classes?
Anyway, I’d love to wear a gown made of purple passion flowers! Flower Haute Couture is another thing I just learned is a real thing.
The wonders of the internet!
Royal influencers aside, there really is something special about purple. It would seem this little wren nesting in my purple wandering jew might agree.
Purple seems quite plentiful in nature. Purple grapes, purple berries, purple flowers, purple peppers, onions and potatoes.
Being so plentiful it shouldn’t feel so special. Yet somehow it still does.
Is the special of purple in the eye of the beholder, or is it somehow ‘objectively’ special, what do you think?
Purple is my absolute favorite color. I was just telling my husband that my goal is to create a “goth garden” with all purple, black, dark blue and dark crimson flowers. I am always drawn to the wildflowers in the woods that are purple, which it seems a LOT are. You don’t see as many pink or red flowers growing wild, at least not here, but you see lots of shades of purple. I love finding beauty in something so simple. I’m glad I’m not the only person to think poke berries are neat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds gorgeous! I hope you’re still writing a blog by then so I can see the pics. I do like the poke berries and use them for food coloring and I even tried them in a lip balm.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How do they work as food coloring? I had read that they were toxic and made you sick.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another plant myth! Here’s from a post I made and there’s some links you could check out to verify, more demonizing by fake science. The root is toxic, but used as a medicinal. The berries are still used in wine and jelly in Apalachia and in other parts of the world.
an excerpt from the post:
“After it got into Europe it was not only planted as an ornamental plant, but its dark purple dye was used for food coloration. The liquor of the berries were pressed, fermented and cleaned up by straining and afterwards it was evaporated down to about honey density in Chinas. The product was used at one for the coloration of foods, preserved fruits, sweets, liqueurs and wines; and for example alias Succus Phytolaccae inspissatus it was sold in German pharmacies. The berries were used to colour the wines of poorer quality with such a success that the plant was widely grown in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy.”
LikeLike
Purple is my favorite color, and I think there IS something special about it. I love love love purplish-blue iris, which seem like flower royalty to me. But any purple flower, like the lovely ones you shared, conveys a sense of specialness.
LikeLiked by 2 people
So nice to hear, thanks for sharing!
LikeLike