growing colour

In August I ordered seeds for some interesting dyeplants. Weld (Reseda luteola) seeds separately, and woad (Isatis tinctoria), Hopi Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus x powellii), Dyer's Chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria) and Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) in a "dyer's seed mix" packet.

The mixed dyeplants were truly mixed. It was a tiny pack of seeds where four kinds were supposedly found, but I could frustratingly only tell apart three kinds of seeds. The little red amaranth grains seemed obvious, and this is what they have become:

These plants look nice and strong and are supposed to produce a red dye. I'm starting to itch to harvest some for the first test. Too early yet? I wish I knew.

The rest of the mixed bag resulted in one big weed (black nightshade) and some little woad seedlings that are fighting for their lives in the greenhouse, poor mother as I have been. They need some more soil and water NOW. Maybe tomorrow.

Weld plants are still quite small. I kept them in punnets in the greenhouse a bit too long, but they have acclimatised and survived despite a shift to the harsh midsummer sun. I'm determined not to lose them for drought (they are outside our irrigation zone) so I have been pampering these babies with special attention.

 

possibilities

One of life's great joys is an armsfull of possibilities before it gets tainted by such realities as lack of skill or dedication. It is plain pure pleasure. I'm dreaming up beauty yet to manifest itself.

Today the postie brought India Flint's gorgeous book: Eco colour - botanical dyes for beautiful textiles.











Just recovering from a cold, I woke up all sweaty when the phone rang. Fighting off the duvet, I rushed to find the phone in the kitchen, where some kind soul had left the book parcel. I really had had enough sleep anyway, promise.

Daydreaming...

Not enough with this: I have been wondering about the availability of woad seeds in NZ, so finally I googled woad+seeds in NZ. Lo and behold, a lady sells organically grown seeds for medicinal herbs and dye plants just down the road! She operates through TradeMe, but my intention is to go and pick up the seeds to see her garden and have a chat.

My shopping list includes:

Woad - Isatis tinctoria - blue dye















Extracting the blue dye sounds a bit tricky, but I can't resist the challenge. This project might take a couple of years.

Hopi Amaranth - Amaranthus cruentus x powellii - red dye



















Dyer's Chamomile - Anthemis tinctoria - yellow dye















Goldenrod - Solidago canadensis - yellow

















I love Goldenrod, it still grows in my mum's garden and seems to go up in flames every autumn.

Weld - Reseda luteola or Dyers mignonette

















How irresistible does this sound: "produces an outstanding primary yellow dye on all protein fibers and cotton. This yellow is clear and intense, the yellow that all other yellows are judged against. The substance responsible for producing this color is luteolin and is present in all the green parts of the plant. Compared to other plant sources for yellow available to the home dyer, weld is very concentrated. Six or seven weld rosettes or two weld plants in bloom will dye a pound of wool an intense primary yellow color."


Go flu, leave my body now, I've got a garden to prepare!
Spring is here!!