Grow A Dye Garden: Six Plants You Should Grow To Extract Organic Colors
Allow us to introduce you to some gorgeous garden plants from which you can extract natural dyes.
Planning a dye garden will offer organic and eco-friendly pigments for knitting yarns, dyeing textiles, soap and candle making, and even natural paints and pastels for artists and children. This year, allocate a small portion of your backyard garden, where you would otherwise plant herbs and flowers, to grow natural dye plants. Below are some easy-to-grow dye plants that can offer you all the colors of a rainbow.
Marigold
Marigold is every gardener’s favorite for its delightful orange and yellow blooms and pest-repulsing properties. You can extract bright, sunny yellow dye from this plant for wool, cotton, and linen. The plants bear flowers all round the summer season, and their petals can be used to extract the dye. To prepare the yellow or orange organic dye, simmer marigold blooms for an hour and strain the solution.
Japanese Indigo
Japanese indigo yields a stunning blue pigment – not the very bright blue of indigo, but a soothing light-to-medium hue of blue. It grows gorgeous pink flowers during summer. Sow the plants nearly 10 inches apart, and their leaves can be harvested numerous times during the growing season.
Beet
You can extract organic dye from the roots of beets, and it offers a pretty pink to red color, based on what fiber you are using to dye. Apart from dyeing fiber, beets can also be added to your meal for a nutritious boost.
Madder Root
Madder root has been in use since ancient times to dye fibers in red, orange, and ochre. Pigment extracted from madder roots can be seen on the garments of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in his tomb. The red pigment is harvested from the roots of this plant.
Bachelor’s Buttons
Bachelor’s Buttons are the ideal plant for dyers as these can be grown easily, and yield a stunning blue pigment that can be used for dyeing. All you have to do is dry these flowers and use them to add color.
Rudbeckia
Rudbeckia flowers can be grown easily, and they yield pretty blooms that produce wonderful yellow and green dyes. The pigment may vary depending on the plant’s age and the part that you are using to extract the dye. You may also add other organic pigments to derive a unique color, and this process is known as overdyeing.
Now you are set to add a splash of color to your plot with these dye plants.
