An ancient dye plant with true yellow staying power – welcome to Weld! Weld – Dyer’s Rocket (Reseda luteola) – Click for seeds! Weld, also known as Dyer’s Rocket or Dyer’s Weed (officially Reseda luteola) is a member of the brassica family and grows as a rosette of green leaves with a spike-like shoot of smallContinue reading “Growing Weld”
Tag Archives: gardening
Growing Dyer’s Chamomile
A beautiful garden plant with bright yellow, fragrant, pollinator attracting flowers. Read on for some growing tips! Dyer’s Chamomile (Cota tinctoria) – Click for seeds! Dyer’s Chamomile, also known as Golden Marguerite (officially Cota tinctoria or Anthemis tinctoria) is a bushy daisy-like plant with feathery leaves growing 1 to 2 feet high and developing large numbers of fragrant,Continue reading “Growing Dyer’s Chamomile”
Pinks from Second Year Woad
Hello fellow plant dye enthusiasts! I’m here today to tell you about a use for your 2nd year woad leaves (other than waiting for seeds, chicken feed, or compost additive)! As we know, woad (Isatis tinctoria) is a rather plain looking plant from Europe that has a long history as a source for blue dye.Continue reading “Pinks from Second Year Woad”
Growing Dyer’s Coreopsis
A lovely North American native prairie plant, a bee magnet, and a strong orange in the dye pot – what’s not to love?! Dyer’s Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) – Click for seeds! A cheerful North American native, this annual plant is easy to grow and will produce hundreds of beautiful little flowers in tufts 2Continue reading “Growing Dyer’s Coreopsis”
Growing Japanese Indigo
Here is a quick little growing guide for this great plant! Interested in more? Click HERE to learn about an in-person workshop happening in Minnesota April 27th! Japanese Indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) – Click for seeds! A member of the knotweed family, this easy to grow annual plant has long been a part of Japanese cultureContinue reading “Growing Japanese Indigo”
Growing Woad
A quick post for those of you interested in growing a plant to produce blue dye! Woad (isatis tinctoria) – Click for seeds! A member of the mustard family, woad has been used since ancient times to produce a beautiful blue dye. It is an easy to grow hardy biennial, but is classified as anContinue reading “Growing Woad”
Dye Project #2: Rhubarb Leaves (plus Rhubarb Crisp recipe!)
As any Midwesterner worth their salt knows, rhubarb is the true sign of spring. Specifically a pie, crisp, or other culinary delight. My family has been blessed by the rhubarb gods – our plants are prolific, massive, and darn near impossible to kill. They may or may not have even emigrated to Utah (shhhh). InContinue reading “Dye Project #2: Rhubarb Leaves (plus Rhubarb Crisp recipe!)”
I think I want to Dye (Fiber. Naturally.)…
I would describe my recent obsession as starting with an epiphany, but that wouldn’t be quite correct. It more snuck up behind me, tapping my shoulder and peeking around doors and corners (especially as I learned to spin from some fabulous hand-dyed roving) until one day I smacked my forehead and wondered why I hadContinue reading “I think I want to Dye (Fiber. Naturally.)…”
Garden time – Row cover tutorial!
Spring is rolling along here in New England – I’ve calculated that we’re about 5 weeks from our last frost date, so the veggie gardening is getting busy. We built 3 raised beds this year and a cold frame to give the veg an extra head start. Everything is crammed in the sunniest corner ofContinue reading “Garden time – Row cover tutorial!”
Planning the growing season
If I haven’t updated the blog as recently as we might have liked, blame the weather. It is unseasonably warm and lovely, filling my head with dreams of this summer’s garden. Since we recently moved into our home, this season is the first to start painting on the canvas of our property. While a littleContinue reading “Planning the growing season”