Exploring Color: Purple

“I don’t have a purple problem, I have a purple passion!” ~Jackie Harmon Sweeney

When we bought our last house, the builder asked us to pick out the color of the siding and shutters.  We had decided to go with a gray house.  Our last house was gray. It seemed more natural in our surroundings with the trees, and besides all our surrounding neighbors had beige houses.  For shutters I wanted another natural color, green–forest green to be exact.  But what to do for the front door.  Typically they paint the front door the same color as the shutters.  But I am anything but typical.  Our last house had a brilliant red door.  I wanted something different for this house so I picked purple.  A deep wonderful purple.

At the time I had no idea of the significance this purple door would have on us and our identity.  When I told people I had a purple door, they couldn’t imagine it until they saw it.  It was perfect for a gardener, a nice bold color.  And we became known as “purple door” to our neighbors.  When people asked where I lived, I would say the gray house with the purple door.  Then they would reply, “Oh where all the flowers are.”  That was us!

A purple door in feng shui means you are honorable and rich in quality of life and wellbeing (not necessarily money).  It also shows you are openminded, versatile and think outside the box especially since it is not a common front door color.  Purple front doors with blue hues, like mine, bring a sense of calm and exude a peace around the front door area.  They say there is good energy around the color purple and I believe it.  When I would enter my house, I would feel an immediate sense of peace.  Now my door is white. We rent, and I cannot paint it. But my purple bench sits to the side of the door on the front porch so I can have a bit of that peaceful purple still surrounding us.

For this week of my #the100dayproject, I am exploring purple. I am planning to take some blue and red watercolors and mixing them to make some interesting purple colors. As well as highlighting the purple watercolors in my Artistro-48 paint set.

So let’s explore a bit about the color purple…..

Various Meanings and History

Purple is associated with royalty and symbolizes power, ambition, wealth and extravagance. Purple is also associated with wisdom, justice, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.  It is considered to be uplifting, calming and offers a sense of spirituality.

In Thailand, purple is worn by a widow in mourning. In Japan, the color purple signifies wealth and position. In Egypt, purple is a symbol of virtue and faith.

Fun Facts

Almost 75 percent of pre-adolescent children prefer purple. Therefore bright purple is a great color to use when advertising children’s products.

Purple is a color liked by very creative or eccentric types. I like that…

Purple is considered a cool color in design. It  has a very calming effect in a garden.

Designers say that purple plants visually recede in a garden, helping to make a small space feel larger.

Purple is a very trendy color especially amongst gourmet chefs who are always looking for a new vegetable like purple carrots. I used to love growing purple vegetables.

Purple Concord grapes are native to North America.

The message you send by driving a Purple vehicle: creative, individualistic, original. I have had 2 purple cars.

Purple is one of the traditional colors of Mardi Gras which started last week.

Hues

Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.
Dark purple is said to evoke sad feelings. But I have found it creates a calming effect, and I used it in my office as a Director/Principal of a Career and Technical training school. Along with the sound of flowing water it calmed some of the most irate and upset teenagers.

Purple in the Garden

The word ‘purple’ comes from the Old English word purpul which derives from the Latin purpura. Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red.

Purple is considered rare in nature although I have had lots of purple flowers.

Purple’s complimentary color in the garden is yellow; a combo I love. 

I also love combining orange and purple for a bold statement.

I asked my husband to bring back some purple flowers from the grocery store the other day. We have been getting snow still and it has been a typical March; cold, gray, wet and windy.

I had no idea he would bring me hyacinths. A light purple-pink sort of color perfect for my special spring Belleek vase.

With this vase, I am linking in to the wonderful meme, In A Vase On Monday, at Rambling in the Garden.

All the pictures shared in this post were taken with my Nikon Coolpix or iPhone camera, and manipulated on my iPhone using the apps, Pixlr and Prisma. The collages were created with a variety of apps 10 years ago that are no longer available. You can follow my progress with #the100dayproject in my Instagram and Facebook feed.

All original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View, 2010-2022.  Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.