The plants

So I have to say, and perhaps this is my unofficial mission statement for this blog, there are excruciatingly few reliable sources on dye, dyeing, dye plants, etc. on the web. It's like you have to be some kind of reincarnated carpet weaver from the 12th century to have a clue. From one clueless to another, let's begin.

Like a king seeking the wisdom of an oracle, this plantswoman reveres the process of consulting her books and resources before moving a muscle towards the outdoors.

If you can bate your excitement and take the time to look something up, you will find out that, for example, the plant Indigofera tinctoria Indigo famously producing the bluest of pigments, will melt and cry come winter (think Wicked Witch of the West) in any zone colder than 10 (um, Miami). Do not mistake, I am all for wanton giddiness when it comes to gardening. Although I must impress that before planning on planting ANYTHING, always find out as much as possible about what that plant wants in it's life. You won't curse your "black thumb", and your plants won't be hating on you.

The first four plants that will certainly rise to any natural dye related web search are:

• Indigofera tinctoria Indigo: blues
• Rubia tinctorum Madder: reds
• Isatis tinctoria Woad: blues
• Reseda luteola Weld: yellows

These are old, reverential plants. Each plant has historically been manipulated to produce different pigments for many different applications. Madder? Think the of the red coats donned by the British army (18th C). Weld? Well, when overdyed with woad the hoodwinked hue of Lincoln Green is made, supposedly the color that Robin Hood and his crew wore (13th C). Not from a plant at all, but I found this just too fascinating to exclude: Tyrian purple, the quintessential color of royal robes, could only be obtained by collecting certain species of mollusks. It was the glandular secretions of these snails that held the chemistry to clothe kings (4th C). To illustrate: "twelve thousand snails of Murex brandaris yield no more than 1.4 g of pure dye, enough to color only the trim of a single garment."(Wikipedia, "Tyrian purple"). Wow.

When considering what to grow in the dye garden at Hopeland Rest, I thought about how I can maximize color output by choosing single plants that will yield us the most variety of colors. A single plant can certainly produce many different hues and colors dependent upon which mordants are used (or not) in combination with different parts of that plant. Because we are just starting out with this project, I chose to include many annuals as they are somewhat disposable in their nature.

I was also surprised to find that many of our North American native plants are more than suitable to include as dye sources. An indispensable resource for me is the book, Dyes from American Native Plants. In a very scientific manner, the book describes the various mordants and processing to produce pigments from our very own native plants. It is a bit slanted for the mid-west, fyi. Fascinating! Tree bark, lichens, ferns, native shrubs, all of these contain compounds that will deliver secret shades and hues. The world contains all these little secrets that are there for the curious to uncover. Lucky us.

Based on my research in my zone 6, the same zone as the future dye garden at the Hudson Valley Fiber Farm, we will be growing, harvesting, and dyeing wool from the following trees, shrubs, perennials, and annual plants:

Achillea millefolium common yarrow

Alcea nigra black hollyhock

Anthemis tinctoria dyer's chamomile

Asclepias tuberosa butterfly weed

Baptisia sphaerocarpa, B.tinctoria yellow wild indigo, dyer's indigo

Calendula officinalis calendula

Carthamus tinctorius safflower

Coreopsis tinctoria dyer's tickseed

Cosmos sulphureus orange cosmos

Cotinus obovatus, C. coggygria smoke bush

Dipsacus sativus teasle

Euphorbia marginata snow-on-the-mountain

Galium verum lady's bedstraw

Helianthus annus sunflower

Hydrangea arborescens smooth hydrangea

Hypericum perforatum St. John's wort

Isatis tinctoria woad

Monarda fistulosa wild bergamot

Nyssa sylvatica black tupelo

Parthenocissus quinqefolia Virginia creeper

Platanus occidentalis sycamore

Polystichum acrostichoides Christmas fern

Ratibia columnifera Mexican hat

Reseda luteola weld

Rhus glabra, R. typhina smooth sumac, staghorn sumac

Rubia tinctoria madder

Rudbeckia hirta black-eyed Susan

Rumex acetosa, R. crispus sorrel

Salix spp. willow

Sambucus canadensis elderflower

Sassafrass albidum sassafrass

Tagetes lucida Mexican mint

Tanacetum vulgare tansy

Verbascum thapsis mullein

An Excel spreadsheet containing these plants, their parts, mordants, process, and color is under construction. Please check back as it will be completed soon.

The snow is not what I see now . . .

. . . as my head has been buried in books, eyes glazed over by web searches, and fingers meticulously measuring my garden drawings. I am planning for the production of color: a dyer's garden.

I am dreaming of dyes.

Tannins.

Mordants.

A new vocabulary is creeping into my head. One that is saturated in history, ancient worlds, wealth and subsistence, high culture, and craft. In familiarizing myself with the art of dyeing, I am rediscovering the unimaginable magnetism of plants with purpose.

This topic, dyeing with plants, is extremely--and accidentally--fascinating to me. My love of plants began with herbs, and the idea that plants could be incredibly USEFUL to people: health, magic, beauty, gastronomy. But fiber and dyeing was never something on my radar. Until . . . .

. . . a friend approached me about contributing my horticultural skills at The Hudson Valley Fiber Farm. A local fiber CSA (the first of it's kind), the HVFF raises sheep and goats for wool. Their animals produce supremely soft fleece that I would like to drape my world with. My first instinct was to suggest a dye garden. What else? From this garden, we will develop a dye program for their wool using natural dyes from plants grown on-site. Brilliant.

So, here I go, off to wade knee-high through observations of novice dyers to ethnobotanical research. Truly, the most valuable information will come from the days spent outside, from the plants we will grow, and the from the dye pots we will peer into. Here is where I will share what I've found useful, helpful, indispensable . . . as well as all the progress, missteps, and epiphanies along the way.

Looking forward to spring-swollen soil where I may being to cultivate colors.