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
~~~~❦~~~~
Oh Judith, your REDBUD has bloomed? This is our absolutely favorite tree, and out in Boston, we had them. HERE? HA! The poor things die and never make it. OK, what is my Easter color? BLUE. YEP, aqua. Every other color that couples with it is great and secondary, like yellow, pink, white and even black. But aqua has to be in my color scheme and that is what I'm going to do this weekend! Fix up and get ready. Looking good! Anita
ReplyDeleteBeautiful purple flowers! Easter at my house is anything pastel!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty. I don't have a special color for Easter ~ I just love pastels mixed together!
ReplyDeletexo,
Lin
Judith, just this week I had to toss my redbud branches that have been in an ironstone pitcher on the dining table for the past weeks. Most all the redbuds here in town have now leafed out. I miss the gorgeous pops of purple pink of the blooms, Purple hyacinths in an antique French white faience jardiniere is on the table now, and the chippy cast iron rabbit is sporting a purple gingham napkin around his neck. Pastels are usually my color for Easter, but guess it's predominately purple this year.
ReplyDeleteYour Easter vignette is perfect. We should get our bunnies together for a plays date. ;-)
Happy Easter!
Judith,
ReplyDeletePurple speaks of Easter for me, although I display pastels in our home for Easter. Your Redbuds look so beautiful displayed with your pretty vignettes. I especially enjoyed your share of Easter's past as a child. I like your alternatives for Easter baskets and I am going to use a flower pot for a gift.
Blessed Palm Sunday.
xoxo,
Vera
Judith, I'm so glad you found me on a link party so that I could read your blog also. How utterly beautiful! I love those colors and think that the purple is gorgeous! And you write beautifully! BTW...I picked up some strawberry jelly beans for some of my Easter photos, but you noticed they weren't there, right? I ate them all...LOL
ReplyDeleteAll that lavender is just simply gorgeous! Spring weather and blooms are still a long way off here in southern PA, that is a sight for sore eyes! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSuch lovely colours, they really sing of springtime.
ReplyDeleteSo many pretty images!
ReplyDeleteFor me, the colours of Easter will always be mauve/purple and pale yellow.
Oh Judith, your Easter is of sherbert flavored ice cream,,,, I love how Easter here reminds me of when I was a little girl waking up to soft colored eggs and jelly beans galore.
ReplyDeleteEaster here is soft Bleu Berry dyed eggs, and French blue both picking up that tone dirtied with a hint of grey. Paper burlap tone grass, and twigs of nature fill buckets and bottles. Chocolats in an array of shapes, and size wrapped up in pretty foils and wrappings.
Your sherbert flavored Easter is so what I remember as a little girl. Where my mom dyed eggs In These shades, and yellow bunnys and chicks were a given in our baskets.
As for your love of florals, I cannot believe how beautiful your phlox of beautiful purple is, I wonder if it grows here, I would soo seek it out for my garden.
See you soon Judith,
Have a Happy Easter.
Xx
Dore
I'm all about shades of purple since your purple Ball jar post.
ReplyDeleteI love your purples, and phlox are one of my most favorite flowers! However....since I am basically a red person, my Easter color is yellow. If I can put yellow flowers in a central location, I think spring every time I see them!!
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, I am now working on some curtains and all of the etcetera's :^) for summer in my living and dining rooms...in the print, is a little violet and a tiny bouquet of pretty bleu flowers. I will think of you when I look at them :^)
Easter blessings to you,
J
Popping back to say this post is one of my pick's of the week.
ReplyDeleteI love this post; all of it. My very favorite thing is the yellow bunny, which is absolutely precious. I love redbud in the house and your arrangement is particular stunning. I'm glad your vignette blossomed purple. It's fantastic! Happy Easter Judith! Thanks for sharing memories.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a red bud tree until today. Your feature is lovely, Judith.
ReplyDeleteGosh. My favorite Easter color is green. This year blue called me. Could it have been that I have been hanging out with you!
~Lynne
Very lovely, Judith! For me, it's yellow. Love to see the daffodils and forsythia blooming and gathered for bouquets. I even remember a yellow organdy dress with lots of ruffles for an Easter long ago! Purple and yellow together? Yum!
ReplyDeleteI do think purple! Beautiful! Thanks for joining Home Sweet Home!
ReplyDeleteSherry
Very pretty! I love seeing branches brought inside! It's oh so pretty! I brought wisteria branches in this year so at least this year I loved purple for Easter.
ReplyDelete