Kolb Farm Thistle

“Kolb Farm Thistle” H-37.75” x W-45.5” on canvas.

Wild thistle going to seed. Based on a series of studies done at Kolb Farm at the Kennesaw Mountian Civil War National Park, Kennesaw, GA.

I noticed while hiking last March that thistles were emerging in the meadows, what was surprising to me though was they were crimson red. I researched and found that they grow this color in parts of South Carolina and North Georgia.

I had never seen red thistles before, they stood above the grass and do not last long. They shed their seed through burst hoary heads. In my poem the reason for red plumes is because of the fallen during the battle, over 4,000 died in just four hours, on June 27, 1864.

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