Fortunately, Mother Nature wasn't subject to those pesky sumptuary laws that sprung up around the world in the past – laws that decreed what people could wear, own and eat. Purple, from the Romans to the Elizabethans, was reserved for the ruling class, an edict easily enforced by the crippling cost of dye.
Lilacs, jacarandas, wisteria, crape myrtles, seas of iris, lavender and alliums carried on throwing their petals to the wind, growing lushly and creating staggeringly beautiful microcosms of otherworldly wonder and delight! Orchards produced figs, blood plums and grapes. Vegetable gardens were abundant with aubergines, red cabbage, globe artichokes and beetroots.
And so, it is with gratitude to a more egalitarian age, where ultraviolet has been named as the Pantone Colour of the Year 2018, that I can…
