Purple Would Be Nice

I’m looking outside at a white landscape again. We’ve been back and forth between green (well, we’ve had some brownish times too….i.e. MUD…) and white this winter, so often that it’s making me downright dizzy.
This afternoon the snow is being blown straight across the landscape by a very stiff wind, and sometimes it wraps the snow around the trees in swirls. We’ve had frequent snowfalls throughout the day. It’s a good day to be indoors. Between snowfalls the sun peaks through the clouds occasionally and brightens things up, but the wind chill is vicious.

I’m thinking we need some COLOR, which brings me to my subject heading. Purples and pinks are at the top of my list when choosing plants….I have to force myself to branch out and take home other colored plants as well. I like them all, of course, but my eye is always drawn first to the pinks and purples. Someone else said the same thing on a blog I was reading recently, but I can’t remember who it was.

Our showiest perennial is most definitely the deep purple Jackmanii Clematis vine that grows in a fairly sheltered nook on a trellis attached to our side (enclosed) porch. When in full bloom, it inspires gasps of pleasure and many an admiring comment, as most varieties of Clematis are inclined to do. It grows with so much vigor and abandon that I have to zig zag string between the top of the trellis and the porch roof to give it something more to cling to. I love this plant with a passion!

Susan with my nephew, Christopher....back in the early 70's

Because of the color, it often brings to mind a very dear Australian friend whose name is Susan. We met when I was still in my teens and she was renting a room from my mother after my brother moved out. Susie and I became like sisters. She has a zany sense of humor and a vibrant personality. She, Mum and I had some wonderful, fun times together. One favorite memory is of a Saturday morning ritual we had. She and I would each take a cup of tea into Mum’s bedroom, and one for Mum, of course. We’d sit on opposite sides of the bed and the three of us would discuss the week’s happenings. It was such a cozy time and we’d laugh a lot.

How does the color purple fit into this story? Susie and I had this silly saying, "Purple’d be nice!" I can’t remember exactly how it came to be. Perhaps it was because we both had purple pantsuits…..bold colors being the fashion during the ‘flower child’ late 60’s and early 70’s. We might be going out to a party and one of us would say, "What’re you wearing tonight?" Susie (or I) would inevitably say, "Purple’d be nice" :) And, of course, we found numerous other opportunities to use the phrase. It never failed to make us laugh.

So purple usually brings Susie to mind, and since I’ve been blogging, it also brings Tanya (Alice’s daughter) to mind. Hi Tanya….I hope you enjoy reading this post about PURPLE :)

Susie and her dear husband, Barry, became the proud grandparents of another grandchild on Friday, February 24th....a baby boy! Congratulations to them, and to his mum, Erika and the rest of her family. There’s nothing Susan enjoys more than being a grandma.
Have fun with that new little one Susie!