Easing into Spring and Planning a Dye Garden

With more daylight and warmer temps, I am ready to get out in the yard to do spring clean up and begin putting in place all the garden ideas I’ve dreamed up over winter. Here in the Midwest, though, we often slip back into winter for a day here and there in March and April. Like the last few days. So, I’m reminding myself to slow down and ease into spring.

One of the first projects on my list is to plant a small dye garden. Plants I’m including are Zinnias, Bachelor’s Buttons, Clary Sage, Marigolds, and several other plants already in the perennial bed. While it is very much an experiment this year from beginning to end, I feel like even if the dyeing process doesn’t produce colors quite as I had hoped, they will still be interesting.

If you are contemplating a dye garden this summer, check with your local hardware or garden center for seeds. A couple of my favorite online sources for seeds and information include Seed Savers Exchange and Floret. With so many people planting gardens these days, I have found local stores to have the most selection at this juncture. That said, online sources are restocking as they can.

Another benefit of growing these flowers – fresh-cut flowers for inside the house through fall and last minute bouquets to drop off with friends and family!

Follow along on Facebook and Instagram – @YvonneMaloneStudio – to see photos of how this project unfolds in the coming months.