Why are Violets Blue?

Briar doubles down and learns if violets indeed are blue.

Welcome to Briar’s daily journal. This is where Briar writes about everything she learns daily, mostly for her own personal record. Never stop learning ♥

12/18/2024

My college professor has caught on to my games! I might not be able to outsmart her anymore! Okay, I am being overly dramatic.

This might have been the first time I have ever opened my gradebook and laughed hysterically that I got a B- on an assignment. A few days ago, when I had to rescue my dad at the airport, I missed the time I had set aside to complete this assignment on schedule. I ended up with very minimal time prior to class to finish the, project so I did what I always do on the extremely last minute ones… I distracted from the real content😎. Come on, you know you’ve been there too.

I’m talking, I pulled out Canva and slapped on as many moving graphics as I could find. The assignment was to create three different pages that explained photosynthesis, transpiration, and cellular respiration through pictures and text. It wasn’t hard, but my professor had laid out a ton of info she wanted me to cover on each page, and I was racing the clock. My end result was by no means embarrassing, but I knew it wasn’t what she was looking for.

She left this note on my assignment today after she graded it XD:

“You did an OK job, clever with the animations, but wordy in paragraphs on what’s happening inside the cells during photosynthesis and respiration. No labels on 'roots' or no xylem or stomata depictions. Could have been more detailed and less waving bushes.”

The ‘less waving bushes’ comment is what sent me over the edge🤣. Absolutely priceless. I deserved every single one of the points she deducted.

I learned about a new plant identifier site! I used to use an app called Seek all of the time, but I gave it up after it IDed too many things incorrectly. I will try this one out and see if I have better luck with it. I tossed it my favorite wood violet picture I took in my backyard.

It called it a common blue violet. I looked it up and turns out that is just another name for a wood violet. I learned something new!

What is it with people naming plants the wrong color? If I were to name that flower I feel like I would choose a descriptor such as purple🤔. But I guess roses are red and violets are blue.

I was intrigued, so I looked up why violets are blue. Turns out it has to do with the pH of the soil, this makes sense and I actually just learned a few days ago that the same principle applies to hydrangeas. The question still stands, though: why are all the violets… well, violet if they are supposed to also be blue? I have a theory. Perhaps back when all these flowers were being named, they truly were blue? Maybe the soil was drastically different than it is now.

In more acidic soils, the color appears to be more blue(funny; blueberries love acidic soil), and they seem reddish-purple in more alkaline soil. Perhaps that means that our soil has lessened in acidity over the years?

Oh no🤣. I just learned something that sorta disproves my whole theory. I’ll leave it up there anyways for your personal enjoyment. I had a thought that has proven true.

“What if I am thinking about this all wrong? What if violet isn’t a shade of purple, but a shade of blue?”

Turns out, ladies and gentlemen, that is, in fact, the case! Violets are blue and not purple because the color violet is a shade of blue with a purple influence.

Wow. I just spent a lot of time on that, didn’t I? Rabbit holes are wonderful!

Lastly, I was doing advent with the fam over FaceTime again and I glanced out my window only to see a car drive by fully decked out in Christmas lights. It was beautiful. My mom told me it was illegal. Sure enough, Google informed me that in Wisconsin it is illegal to drive around with the cheery lights on. You can only turn on the lights when the vehicle is stationary.

It does look insanely incredible when it is driving by.

-Briar Albaugh