Didyouknowthatyoucangrowarainbowinyourgardenthatwillextendfarbeyondthe5lowers,vegetablesandfruitsthatyouharvest?

Youcancoloryourworldwithbeautifulhuesobtainedfromdyesmadefromtheblossoms,leaves,androotsofmanyplantsyoucangrowinyourhomegarden.Manypeople5indthecolorsobtainedfromplantstobemoreaestheticallypleasingthanmostsyntheticdyes.Onepossiblereasonforthisisthat

1

Growing Plants for Fabric Dyes Natural dyes are part of an ancient craft that gardeners can perfect if they are patient.

by Rebecca Brown, for Yakima Valley Master Gardeners

Sally Fitch, Yakima, wears a coat created from Chilean wools, which she wove herself. The art piece she is holding depicts Hmong artists preparing indigo dyes, a centuries-old process that can take a full month to achieve the depth of blue/black color desired. Sally has traveled much of the world to witness the authentic dying and weaving processes in different cultures. JIM BLACK PHOTO

naturalplant-baseddyecolorseachcontainseveraldifferentcolormoleculesasopposedtothesingularcolormoleculesofmanysyntheticdyes.Thisgivesacolorthatiseasyontheeye,moreeasilymixedwithothercolors,andrefreshinglydifferent.

Inaddition,thepaletteofnaturalcolorsisoftenmoredesirablethanthegarishsingle-mindedpalettehandedtousbyMadisonAvenue,regardlessofwhatMirandaPriestleymightopineinthemovie,TheDevilWearsPrada!

Thebestthingaboutnaturaldyes,however,isthatyoucangrowthemyourself.Whetheryourgardenisapatiowithcontainersforplants,ortwoacrestospreadout,youcanraiseplantsthatwillproducegorgeouscolorforallofyourtextileprojects.

Whendyeingatextile,asubstancemustbeusedasamordant,tobindthedyecolormoleculestothetextilemolecules.Manydifferentmordantsareused,includingsalt,vinegar,alum,iron,tin,andchrome.

Becausenaturaldyecolorscanbevariedbythetypeofmordantsusedto‘5ix’thedyestothetextile,manydifferentcolorscanbeproducedfromoneplant.Therefore,itisagoodideatobeginbygrowingthethreeprimarycolors:Red,Yellow,andBlue.

ThebestRedcolorisusuallyobtainedfromtherootsoftheMadderplant(Rubiatinctorum).AlthoughthisplantisonlyhardythroughZone7,inourarea,itcanbebroughtinsideduringthewinterorotherwiseprotectedfromthecold.UsingAlumasamordantwillproduceaclearred.OthersourcesforreddyeincludetherootsofLady’sBedstraw(Galliumverum)orDyer’swoodruff(Asperulatinctoria).

ThereareanumberofgoodcandidatesforproducingYellowdyes.Inourarea,someofthebestandeasiesttogroware:RomanChamomile(Chamaemelumnobile)whereyouwouldusethe5lowers,Weld(Resedaluteola)usingleavesandstemseitherfreshordriedandthe5lowersofYarrow(Achilleamillefolium).Marigolds(Tagetespetula)andCorreopsis5lowersalsowillproduceyellowdyes.

2

For information on the Yakima County Master Gardeners Program:https://extension.wsu.edu/yakima/home-garden/master-gardeners/

Theyareeasytogrowinthisareaaswell.TherootoftheTurmericplant(Curcumalonga),whichiseasytogrowbutneedswinterprotectionasitisbasicallyatropicalplant,makesanintenseyellowtoorangedye.

TraditionallyBlueisobtainedfromtheWoadplant(Isatistinctoria)usingfreshleaves.ThisisthedyeoftheancientCelts;however,despiteitsromantichistory,ithasaveryinvasivenature,andWashingtonStatehaslisteditasaclassAnoxiousweed.Don’tbetemptedtoplantitinyourgarden.

Initsplace,indigo(Indigferatinctoria)leaveshavealsobeenusedforthousandsofyears.Indigo-dyedfabricshavebeenfoundonEgyptianmummiesstillretainingtheirbluecolor.IndigoactuallyhasmoreofthebluepigmentthanWoadbutisalittlefussiertogrowasitprefersatropicalclimate.Youcanstillgrowitsuccessfullyinagreenhouse,orbybringingitinsidewhenitstartstogetcoldinlatefall.

Thereisnoreasontohaveaseparate5lowerbedforyourdyeplants;theycanbemixedinwithother5lowers,herbsorevenvegetables.Themainthingistoconsiderthetypeofgrowingspaceandconditionyourdyeplantslikeandplantthemaccordingly.Onceyouhavechosentheplantsyouwouldliketobeginwith,doublethenumberofplantsyouthinkyouwillneed.Youwill5indthatnaturaldyesneedalotmorematerialtoproduceenoughcolorforyourprojectsthanyoumightthink.Ahintwouldbetostartwithdyesmadefromblossomsasyouwillgenerallyhavealotmoretoworkwithinyour5irstyear.Ifyouaregoingforroot-baseddyes,youmighthavetowaitaseasonortwotogetenoughmaterialforyourdyebathunlessyouareabletobuylarge,liveplantstostart.

Althoughitismoreworktoproducethesebeautifulnaturaldyes,theresultswillbewellworththeeffort.Tofollowthepathoftextileartiststhathavebeenusingthemforthousandsofyearsisatremendousfeelingandthefactthat,forthemostpart,thesedyesaremuchsaferforpeopleandforthe

3

environmentthansyntheticonesisicingonthecake!Itshouldbenotedthatevenintheplantworldthereareplantsthatarepoisonousordangeroustohumansandsomemordantscanbecausticordangerousaswell.Agoodruleofthumbasinallendeavors,istoalwaysknowyouringredients.

Thereisagloriousrainbowwaitingforyouinyour5lowerbedsorpots.Whatcanyoucreatewithallthoseincrediblecolors?

Foradditionalinformationonnaturaldyes,refertothefollowinglinks:

https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2073/2014/03/052110.pdf

https://www.fs.fed.us/wild5lowers/ethnobotany/dyes.shtml

!

4