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A Tale of the Red Campion
Red campion

Red campion

Red Campion Silene dioica

The Red Campion flowers in the forest along the paths and has a long flowering season. I collected some seed and was able to get them to grow quite well. In fact, each plant produces huge amounts of seed, so they are spreading nicely around the garden. They range from pale pink - particularly those on shady path sides in the forest to deep magenta. For this painting I could pretty much use magenta direct, with a bit of Opera Rose to brighten it up. I didn't realise that the plant is dioecious and I seem to have found only male plants to draw! The female plants have curly stigmas and a rounder calyx.