5 Flowers to Grow for a Starter Natural Dyes Garden
In a town crackling with talented creatives of all types, Amanda de Beaufort stands out.
When I first wrote about her burgeoning cottage industry in 2020 for Remodelista, she was extracting her dyes from store-bought produce (avocados, onions, etc.)
Amanda watering her flowers at the community garden.
You don’t need a large plot to start a dye garden.
You can use a cup or two of flower heads to dye one scarf,” she explains.
“I love gardening—there is something very satisfying about growing something you can use. And flowers are way easier to grow than vegetables!” Below, Amanda shares her five favorite long-blooming flowers to grow for a natural dye garden.
Photography by Claire Weiss of Day19.
Sulfur Cosmos
Amanda, collecting seeds from her sulfur cosmos.
Pincushion Flower ‘Black Knight’
“These dark purple variety [of scabiosa] grow on long stems, so they are great for a cutting garden, too. Each petal is shaped like a tiny flower. They are beautiful and give a deep green, navy and blue dye.”