The curse of the black rose
In 1889, the Konopiste Castle just outside Prague was obtained as his home by the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferndinand d’Este, the heir to the imperial throne. In 1907, he employed an English botanist to cross-breed roses at Konopiste in order to produce a black variety. It seems that he was warned that black roses bring death and war.
Apparently it took until 1914 to cultivate the rose. Later that same year, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, leading directly to the outbreak of the First World War. Coincidence?
So what has all this got to do with me? Well, last week I was in Prague for the graduation ceremony of a friend [see my blog posting here] and I visited the castle at Konopiste which is walking distance from where my friend now works as a newly-qualified doctor. A few weeks previously, I was on a break in Sarajevo and saw the exact spot where the Archduke was assassinated by a Serb extremist [see my account of the trip here]. More coincidence?
I only ask because I’ve met some people who argue that there is no such thing as coincidence and that instead everything happens for a reason. So should I be worried?
October 10th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Roger, Black flowers do not exist. So you should not be worried.
In fact a truly black flower is harder to find than true love, it doesn’t exist.
Though with over 2750 varieties of dark plants, some do have flowers that come deceptively close to black.
How Do Flowers Look Black?
A flower looks black because pigments in the petals absorb red, green, yellow and blue light. With all the light being absorbed none is reflected back off the petals so they appear black. see http://www.planet.science for more information.
October 10th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Well that’s a relief, Mavis.
The things you know!
October 11th, 2007 at 12:02 am
I am a mine of useless information.
October 19th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
you know that is so not true