Monday, February 21, 2011

Honeysuckle huh?

I finished the "Down and Dirty" necklace a few weeks ago--in time for the YOJP deadline even--but I haven't had time to take good photos of it, so that will have to wait. So I'll post about something else today, something that's been puzzling me for weeks.

Every year, Pantone releases its color forecast of what shades will be hot--in clothes, decor, even cars. The 2011 color of the year is this:


Now I think this is a perfectly lovely color. I love pink, especially deep rosy shades like this. What I object to is the name. Honeysuckle? I grew up in a place where honeysuckle grew wild and rampant in alleys, covering backyard fences and suffocating backwoods lots. As kids, we would pluck the ripe blossoms, pull out the stamen (or pistil or whatever it's called) and catch the drop of nectar that gives the plant its name on our tongues.

Even in the Washington suburbs I have some honeysuckle growing in the divide between my front yard and my neighbors'. But to me, honeysuckle looks like this:



Do you see any pink there?

Obviously, some pink cultivars do exist--they come up on Google image searches--but I've never seen one in real life. IMHO [does it date me to use that abbreviation?], calling Pantone shade No. 18-2120 "honeysuckle" is like saying catchup is green, just because such a thing exists.