Cardinal Flowers, Alizarin Crimson, and Donovan

Here are a few wildflower photos I took last weekend out at our place on the Kinneyconnick. I guess you can tell the cardinal flower is my favorite- probably because it's the only wildflower I've seen in this area that's really red. This flower is REALLY red, no photoshop enhancements necessary. (Alizarin crimson, perhaps?) As evidenced by my artwork, I love intense, saturated color; I believe it's one of the sublime ecstasies of life!

Mist Flower (Eupatorium coelestinum)

Meadow Phlox (Phlox maculata) or Fall Phlox (Phlox paniculata)

Four views of the showy Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis):


Alizarin- a red dye originally obtained from the root of the common madder plant, Rubia tinctorum, in which it occurs combined with the sugars xylose and glucose. The cultivation of madder and the use of its ground root for dyeing by the complicated Turkey red process were known in ancient India, Persia, and Egypt; the use spread to Asia Minor about the 10th century and was introduced into Europe in the 13th.




As Donovan says, wear your love like heaven!