Saturday, May 25, 2024

Born to the Purple

 



Factoid: During the Bronze Age, only those of high social status could afford to wear purple, the dye being costly to produce. It was made in the Phoenician city of Tyre, and was desired not only as a status symbol, but also for its ability to resist fading.

          Imperial Porphyry was a stone mined far away in only one quarry in Egypt, again of purple hue, that was so hard it took steel blades and great skill to carve, adding to its value.  

          There was a pavilion in Constantinople where royal births occurred, and it was clad in – you guessed it – Imperial Porphyry. Thus, “Born to the Purple.”

         

What set all this off in my head was the realization that while yellow may be considered the color of spring, in my yard it’s purple.

       




   Our clematis is fat with blooms, threatening to collapse its rickety trellis.

         











The iris across the yard is answering the call. (Although the picture came out a bit blue.)

         












    And even our humble weeds chives are joining in.

9 comments:

  1. Your yard is telling the world of your high social status!

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  2. my yard goes through waves of color with one dominating and then giving way to another. blue, pink, yellow, purple, pink (again) and orange. orange is dominant now with the day lilies and cosmos and purple coneflowers which are really pink and rockrose also pink.

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    1. That must be a sight to see. I don't have enough yard to do too much, but yes, the coneflowers, black-eyed susans and others should (hopefully) kick in later.

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  3. Beautiful! Purple is my favorite color, but I don't think it says anything about my status in the world :-)

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  4. Smiling. Purple (well mauve) is the theme colour in our autumnal garden at the moment. Born to the purple I am not.

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  5. It all looks lovely. Those chives are great in scrambled eggs.

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    1. Good idea.. I'll cut some for Sunday breakfast.

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  6. You are surrounded by royalty it seems.

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Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear what you think.