Bleeding Heart

This needlepoint canvas is intentionally painted GRAY, to make stitching with BLACK threads a breeze! Design is 8x8" on 13 mesh, total canvas width and height is 12x12". 

Here is the Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis. This toxic, gorgeous, and showy flower is romantic and calls to mind unrequited affection and heartbreak. The Japanese legend about this flower says that a love struck man gave the woman he desired a series of gifts. Each gift can be found by pulling apart the delicate petals of the Bleeding Heart flower - a pair of rabbits, a fine silk pair of slippers, and earrings. After all three gifts - and this man's love - were rejected, he stabbed himself in the heart. (He should've just gone to therapy, but...) Where his blood spilled onto the earth, the bleeding heart flowers began to grow and bloom. 

As a gardener and an artist, I have been dying to bring some dark florals to needlepoint. These designs bring to mind a dark academia aesthetic, and show a rich and lush color palette for a brooding but elegant look. These flowers aren't meant to be consumed, but they are a joy to admire, both in the garden and in art.