My garden is small and much of it is shady. It faces north and has a large apple tree that was probably planted when the house was built in 1901. I can’t fit it as many plants as I’d like (what gardener can?) so I prioritise those that help wildlife. If the butterflies and bees …
The Meadow Brown is one of Britain’s most common butterflies and symbolises the arrival of summer as their numbers swell towards Summer Solstice. It is reliant on unkempt, scruffy places such as roadside verges and uncultivated fields because it lays its eggs at the base of long grass. With the loss of hay meadows and …
The Peacock butterfly is widespread in Europe during summer and always looks spectacular. Its scientfic name is beautiful – Aglais Io. Io was a princess in Greek mythology so lovely that Zeus fell in love with her. She also lends her name to one of Jupiter’s moons. The Peacock butterfly has distinctive markings which look …
Bees are one of the lynchpins of our life on Earth. Almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of leading global crops depend on animal pollinators. Bees are important pollinators and, given that 1 in every 3 mouthfuls of our food is pollinated, we need to care for our bees. Quite apart from being crucial …
Comfrey has had a long relationship with humans. It grows in sun or shade in damp areas. Look for it near ditches or river banks. Or in damp wasteland or grassland. It appears throughout summer and has white or pink flowers. It’s one of those plants you don’t notice until you do, and then you …
Lac, like Cochineal, is a red dye used for many hundreds of years. Recently I had success dyeing with it and have discovered the deep, burgundy red of Lac. Lac comes from the scale insect Laccifer lacca which lives in fig trees. Its name most likely comes from the Sanskrit word ‘laksa’ which is the …
The unassuming Dock is the kind of plant you don’t notice. It has large, slightly leathery looking leaves, sometimes with red spots or a red line down its centre. Definitely what people call a weed, with no pretty flowers. I think of it as a kind plant for it is often found growing among stinging …
Red was the preserve of the Roman generals, according to Pliny. Warriors used this colour, including the British redcoats until they became easy targets in the South African landscape in the Boer War. A study of English football over the last 50 years found that teams who wear red are more likely to be winners. …
As a constant knitter it was inevitable that knitting projects were going to edge their way in to this blog, naturally dyed or not. Since many people who are interested in dyeing are also knitters, I hope the things I learnt making this jumper are useful to others. It is a Norwegian pattern called Men’s …
“And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.” William Wordsworth’s famous poem embodies the sudden appearance of the yellows and golds of spring. Daffodils push through the greys and browns of the winter flower bed and the colours bring a sense of renewal and rebirth. This year the spring seems even …