Garden to dye for gives you the colours of the rainbow
As interest in eco-friendly products and methods grows, it’s no surprise that many artists and other creative types are planting natural dye gardens.
Low-cost and easy to grow, dye gardens can be planted just about anywhere. Over the centuries, popular plants used for dyes included indigo, madder and saffron. Tree tannins, lichen and fungi, as well as flowers, leaves, stems and even roots were also transformed into dyes.
Brian Parker of Home Depot says several plants easily grown in a home garden can produce lovely dyes. He recommends experimenting with hues.
“Combining plants like hibiscus and lavender will yield richer colours — try experimenting, just as you would with paints,” he says.
“Hibiscus is a great plant for a beautiful purple dye. Add lemon and salt when dyeing a camellia plant and you’ll get a bright pink, magenta colour. Roses and lavender can bring out a brilliant pink dye with just a little mint and lemon juice. Marigolds and sunflowers produce shades of yellow. Use both the stalks and the petals for the most potent colour.”
Chris Dalziel is a gardener, homesteader and fibre artist in Greenwood.
“I recommend planning your garden around both perennials and annuals, with a thought to the colours that each plant gives,” she says.
“Aim to have the three primary colours — blue, red and yellow — represented in your garden in abundance. From these, the full rainbow of colours will be available to you.”
Camomile, yarrow, goldenrod and coreopsis yield different shades of yellow.
“By planning for several yellows, you’ll also have many greens and oranges to choose from,” Dalziel says.
Owyn Ruck and Visnja Popovic, co-founders of New York’s Textile Arts Center, say the main thing is to plant what’s native to your area, so do some research.
Not only are plants more likely to thrive in their native environment, but their colour intensity is affected by conditions like sun exposure, moisture and temperature.
Plants also may produce different dye quantities at various points in their life cycles.
Making dye from plants generally requires chopping them up, adding water and boiling them. Wear rubber gloves, and do your research before experimenting.
Natural fibres like silk, cotton, wool and muslin take dye most successfully.