Purple

Inside Westminster Abbey, eight 20-foot-tall live trees lined the center aisle during the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. The trees transformed the space, doing what even the most elaborate floral arrangement could not — providing a natural, living sense of permanence and an air of drama. The move was unexpected, unpretentious and bold. A potted tree on your patio or deck can have the same effect. While not every tree is well-suited for a container, there are a surprising number of options, ranging from crape myrtles to hollies.

NEW YORK -- Carnegie Hall put out the purple Monday night to welcome the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for the opening of Spring For Music, a week-long festival showcasing American orchestras playing adventurous programs. Ravens-colored cloths adorned the seat backs of the musicians' chairs and the conductor's podium; more cloths were handed out to audience members to wave on cue in a salute to Baltimore. That cue came before the music started when an announcer from local radio station  WQXR interviewed the BSO's high-profile booster, Gov. Martin O'Malley, onstage.

Editor's note: A little boy yearns to know the purple coyote's secret but later wishes he hadn't been so curious.In the middle of a flat and arid desert stood a hill of sand and rock.Near this hill was a small house.Jim played alone in the garden with his old truck, which was missing one wheel.One day, a coyote appeared on the hill.A coyote unlike any other.A purple coyote.Jim watched him.The coyote did a little dance. Then he balanced himself on his right front paw and let out a strange howl:"WULULI WULA WULILA WUWU WA!"

Backed by an affirming legislative session and soon to be flush with transportation money, state officials went to Washington on Monday to assure the administration that Maryland has both the means and the will to build two light rail systems. "Timing is everything," said Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, after a meeting with U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari and the deputy administrator for the Federal Transit Administration. "Maryland has the resources to move forward.

That purple glow illuminating two of Howard County's most prominent public buildings at night is nothing to be alarmed about -- unless perhaps you're a Washington Redskins fan. In honor of the Baltimore Ravens' bid to play in a second Super Bowl, County Executive Ken Ulman had the county rent purple spotlights that were installed outside the county-owned Gateway building, which is easily visible from Route 175, near Interstate 95, and the George Howard...

On the face of it, the state of Maryland is flying in the face of Purple Friday. The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation sent out a message on Twitter today urging Marylanders to wear red Friday to show their commitment to fighting heart disease in women. The timing may be unfortunate because many Marylanders, including much of the General Assembly, already have plans to wear a certain other color in support of the Baltimore Ravens two days before the Super Bowl. The Go Red for Women is part of a national observation sponsored by the American Heart Association, which apparently picked Feb. 1 without football in mind.

The stylists say purple is the it winter color. But Baltimore already knows that, doesn't it? As the Ravens inch closer to a spot in the Super Bowl, the city has gone seriously, deliriously plum — and, sorry Milan, this is no fashion statement: It's a pride thing. With the light bulbs, the jerseys, the sweaters and the dog collars, the banners, the flags, the hats and the panty hose, the face paint, the ties and even, Lord help us, the wigs, Purple Friday, a season-long staple for die hards, has gone large.

Football season has started and Ravens fans are putting on their purple hats and pulling out their pennants. This year, you can extend the purple passion to your table as well. We've pulled together a panoply of trendy purple vegetables, suitable for your next tailgating party or simply a family dinner. You can pick up purple broccoli, purple cauliflower, purple Peruvian potatoes, purple carrots, purple (maroon) cabbage and even purple asparagus. Ponder the possibilities. Steak and potatoes can take on a new hue. Carrots and hummus can be coordinated with team colors.

For months, the red-brick restaurant building stood forlornly vacant on the corner of Boston and Montford streets. Then, a few weeks ago, it flushed purple. "The paint is called Midnight Mansion. It's supposed to be a gray-blue," says Michael Strati. But, as he discovered, you paint gray-blue on top of red brick, and it becomes ... purple. So how come Strati named his new restaurant Red Fish? "I liked the name," he says. And, somehow the name Purple Fish doesn't have quite the right ring to it. Whether it was the name or the color, business boomed as soon as the eatery opened its doors July 14. "We got busy right off the bat," says Strati.

Baltimore fashionistas probably aren't going to replace the little black dress with the little purple dress, but purple in all its glory is definitely the color of the moment. Not aubergine. Not plum. Not magenta or lavender. Purple. Jimi Hendrix immortalized the shade in "Purple Haze." Alice Walker raised it to the stature of literature. But it took the Ravens heading for the Super Bowl to make purple a fashion basic. For the past couple of weeks, people have been digging out any piece of clothing they own that has even a touch of purple.

Coach Mark Turgeon is hoarse with a bad cold, scoring leader Dez Wells has been nursing a sore knee since midway through the ACC tournament, and Maryland has had to get over playing four games in seven days and not making the NCAA tournament. Despite all that, the Terps (22-12) were getting motivated to play basketball again, beginning with a home game Tuesday night against Niagara (19-13) in the first round of the NIT. If they win, they would play the Ohio-Denver winner. The future schedule has not been finalized, but that second-round game would likely be at Comcast Center on Thursday.

The Maryland Department of Transportation wants to proceed with the light rail Purple Line at a newly raised price tag of $2.15 billion. The Purple Line now costs more than twice the rapid transit bus alternative while yielding only a 25 percent increase in ridership. This is not a cost-effective investment of public dollars. For the cost of the Purple Line, Marylanders could have bus rapid transit along the Purple Line corridor and rapid bus transit along Montgomery County's I-270 corridor plus have a half billion dollars to fund other transportation projects.

Ralph Johnson knows they will come. Bring a Ravens player to Man Cave Memorabilia, the store his daughter owns in Glen Burnie, and the fans will turn out. That includes the guy who collects autographs on the hood of his Jeep. And the one who has players sign his skin, then goes directly to a tattoo shop to have the ink forever embedded a few levels deeper. "That's a little nuts," said Johnson, who arranges the signings. "And that was before the Super Bowl . It's at a new level now. " While Ravens players continue sorting through endorsement offers, many of them are taking advantage of their heightened popularity with appearances and signings.

As tens of thousands of Maryland families reveled in purple pride at M&T Bank Stadium on Tuesday, one mile away, the mood at Digital Harbor High School was blue. Students and staff questioned the Baltimore school system's decision not to amend school schedules or allow them to attend the parade celebrating the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl win against the San Francisco 49ers. "We are in a city that our kids are not always proud of," said Patrice LaHair, an English teacher at Digital Harbor.

On the face of it, the state of Maryland is flying in the face of Purple Friday. The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation sent out a message on Twitter today urging Marylanders to wear red Friday to show their commitment to fighting heart disease in women. The timing may be unfortunate because many Marylanders, including much of the General Assembly, already have plans to wear a certain other color in support of the Baltimore Ravens two days before the Super Bowl. The Go Red for Women is part of a national observation sponsored by the American Heart Association, which apparently picked Feb. 1 without football in mind.

With the Baltimore Ravens preparing for Super Bowl, it's time to turn to all thing purple, including books. Buildings in the city already are bathed in purple lights and folks here are wearing purple sweaters, scarves and shirts. So why not books? Here is a list of some favorites, to get folks in the mood for Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers. -- "Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson. One of my favorite kids' books, about a boy whose fantastic imagination is bolstered by a magical crayon.

Pat Jeddock just adores purple. Purple ice trays and purple window shades. A purple picket fence and heart-shaped purple petunias. And, oh yes, a Charles Village house that's as purple (well, it's really more of a dark lavender) as possible."Purple's been my favorite color ever since I can remember," says Ms. Jeddock, 29, while beating the summer heat in her purple flip-flops. "Eventually, inside and out, the house is going to be purple."But neighbors talk, and the talk around the Jeddock house at 32nd Street and Abell Avenue has not been at all complimentary.

Anybody notice the purple lights on the Washington Monument lately? Too late now if you haven't. They switch back to white tonight, now that it's March. But all last month, the monument glowed purple. Why? Well, it was actually a bit of a mistake, says Jennifer Morgan, director of community outreach for the city's Recreation and Parks Department. Rec and Parks agreed, at the request of the Maryland branch of the American Heart Association, to shine red lights on the monument during February, for national heart month.

There are Ravens fans, there are passionate Ravens fans, and then there is Cindy Pierce. "I go by the fan name of Purple Dame," said Pierce, who lives in Severn and said she's missed just one home game in the past 13 years. When she cheers on her team, "I'm just head to toe in purple," wearing a No. 98 jersey for former Raven Tony Siragusa, she said. Pierce, who was honored last year by the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Hall of Fans, is involved with several Ravens fans groups, and has been urging fellow members to support the Brigance Brigade Foundation, the nonprofit organization started by former Ravens player O.J. Brigance and his wife, Chanda, after he was diagnosed in 2007 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS and Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive motor neuron disease that robs people of their ability to control their muscles.

(Above photo is from Los' Facebook page ) Los and Mullyman , two Baltimore rappers who have seen success outside of the city, have pledged their allegiance to their hometown's football team. This week, they've released separate songs in support of the Ravens. Both are titled "Purple Reign," but sound very different. (Note: The Sun's Jill Rosen spoke with Los and the song's producer, J. Oliver, and has a story about the origin of "Purple Reign. ") With its regal horns and stadium-sized hand claps, Los' "Purple Reign" sounds ready for the radio right now. It also invokes the underdog attitude the team wears so well.