One of my favorite dye blogs is Rihivilla Dyeing with natural dyes. Wonderful pictures and good information. The current post: Riihivilla, Dyeing with natural dyes: Now in my garden Nyt puutarhassa has a good picture (scroll down a bit) of what Woad seeds look link when ready to harvest.
Pictures of my going-to-seed Woad plant below. (Hand in pictures to give an idea of the size of the seeds.)
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Woad flowers. What you don’t see in this picture are the aphids.
Up to now it seemed that nothing wanted to lunch on my dye plants, not even snails – and the latter are capable of tearing up a cactus.
At least until a couple of days ago. Went out to water the garden and found a herd of aphids parked on the Woad plant just below the flowering stems.
The plant seems ok, continues flowering and I’ve started spraying with my home brew ‘insecticidal soap’ (dish soap and water).
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I have this theory that the best to start a new year, or move to a new home, is with newly begun (or even unfinished) projects. Then there is something ready to work on immediately. My way of making myself feel at home while the cats no doubt are sniffing every corner.
That in mind there’s a dressed loom and a simmering dye pot waiting. Not a bad way to start the new year off.
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