Growing Plants for Dyeing

When we think about colour, most of us picture the dye pot. But the real story starts in the garden. Growing plants for dyeing is a way to make the process sustainable from the ground up, while also reconnecting with knowledge that once belonged to everyday life.

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With the CommunityCloth project we encourage participants to see gardens as more than food sources. A balcony pot, a corner of a school garden, or a patch in a community allotment can become a small dye garden. Choosing plants that suit the local climate and rotating them alongside food crops not only provides raw material for colour, but also improves soil health and biodiversity.

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Which plants are good to start with in a dye garden?

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• Woad – Produces a blue pigment (indigo) extracted from its leaves.
• Madder – Its roots produce strong reds and orange hues.
• Weld – Famous for clear yellows that don’t fade easily.
• Dyer’s coreopsis or Marigolds - Yellows, oranges and reddish-browns.

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Dye gardens show that natural dyeing is not separate from everyday life. They are spaces where creativity, ecology, and community learning meet; small but powerful steps toward sustainable textile practices.

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