2023 Garden Plans
It can be difficult living in a city and having the desire to garden. In apartments without any outdoor space, I lined every windowsill and sunbeam with pots to find space for all my herbs, flowers, and house plants. People would come over and suggest getting rid of a few, but I could never do that. I rather hopscotch over them all. Growing up with a big backyard garden in my childhood, any plant I was able to sustain in my apartment was a badge of honor.
I am immensely lucky that my apartment has a small side yard this year and that my landlady is allowing me to garden in the space. My partner put together a few above-ground planters for me. I dedicated one to learning about using plants for dyeing fabrics while the other two are for vegetables and a sunflower patch.
After reviewing several plant dye books, I ended up purchasing four different plants based on their recorded performance on plant-based fabrics.
Nettle, Urtica Dioica
Woad, Isatis tinctoria
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium
St Johns Wort , Hypericum perforatum
From my research, I hope to achieve green shades with nettle, blues with woad, yellow-green with yarrow, and red tones with St. John’s wort. Soon, I hope to harvest and start experimenting with the dyeing process and results.
