The Color of Easter

What is the color of Easter? 

When you think of Easter what color do you see in your mind? 

Do you see fresh green like new sprouting grass and leaves? 

Or perhaps you see white as in Easter lilies? 

How about the yellow of daffodils and baby chicks? 

For me, purple is the color of Easter. 

The purple of creeping phlox that appears in early spring 

planted in masses on slopes signals Easter is approaching. 

My grandmother grew purple phlox that was prickly. 

Prickly purple phlox. 

Whenever I see it, 

I think of my grandmother who loved to grow flowers, 

and I think of Easter. 

Redbud and phlox purple remind me of ... 

Easter with the extended family gathering for 

lunch with ham as the main dish. 

Easter with our baskets to look for Easter eggs 

and with deviled eggs on the lunch menu. 

Easter with new clothes to wear to church services. 

Easter was always a big day for the whole family. 

 The color of purple phlox that is the same color 

of redbud trees - that's the color of Easter.  

My mother and grandmother always dyed several colors of 

hard-boiled eggs for our Easter egg hunts in the yard. 

There were always purple eggs to find and to put into our baskets. 

The rye grass and irises beneath the redbud in my yard 

would make great places to hide Easter eggs. 

Redbud trees grow wild in the woods of North Alabama. 

Redbuds do grow in North Texas, but not in the wild. 

However... 

We planted a redbud several years ago and two volunteer redbuds 

appeared in our yard a couple of years later. 

Something about trees and flowers self-propagating makes me happy. 

Somehow those plants seem more special, 

like they picked us to live with, 

rather than the ones I've planted that weren't given a choice. 

As I looked out at the redbuds, I decided to bring several branches inside. 

At the same time, I was thinking about a vignette of whites for the kitchen island. 

The plan was to put the blue speckled eggs in white bowls, to use a white pitcher, 

and to arrange white flowers on the white wicker basket. 

Then I spotted these two shades of purple bowls while shopping. 

I picked them, put them down, walked around, and picked them up again.  

All the while thinking about 

redbud trees, creeping phlox, and Easter. 

The white vignette turned itself into a purple vignette, 

but was still arranged in the white wicker basket. 

The only new things are the purple bowls 

and the jelly beans.  

Everything else are things I've had for several years. 

Leaping purple hares on a kitchen towel leapt right into the bottom of the basket. 

A pale yellow iron bunny was already dressed 

in the pastel seam binding ribbons that

are the perfect colors to pull everything together. 

Jelly beans, along with chocolate bunnies,  

were always in our childhood Easter baskets. 

Even now in retirement years, I assemble an Easter basket 

for my sister that always has chocolate. 

The basket is not always a traditional basket. 

Flower pots, decorative boxes, and gift bags are all 

good alternatives for filling with Easter treats. 

Raspberry, strawberry, orange, lemon, and peach cremes 

are the flavors of the jelly beans. 

Arranged in a simple clear floral vase, 

the visible jelly bean colors contrast with the purples 

and coordinate with the pale yellow iron bunny.  

In the background is another kitchen towel with bleu bunnies 

hanging on the oven door handle. 

What is the color of Easter at your house? 

~~~~❦~~~~

purple bowls ~ Anthropologie 

hare & bunny kitchen towels ~ Williams & Sonoma, many years ago 

blue speckled eggs ~ Botanic Bleu shop 

yellow iron bunny ~ local gift store, several years ago 

jelly beans ~ Brach's candy

~~~~❦~~~~