Starting the dyeplant patch back in the late autumn of 2019 I chose the queen of all natural dyes, madder Rubia tinctorum, to begin my journey. A good nursery in the Highlands provided carefully packaged root cuttings for me to grow.
Three years seemed like an awfully long time to wait (for my impatient mind) to harvest the roots to make this red dye so I purchased some dried roots to begin…I rushed ahead and didn’t really know how best to prepare the dye or fabric to make the most of the red shades I could achieve, hence this soft salmon pink shirt pictured (I still wore it proudly).
Research and many questions and answers from expert dyemakers and growers like Susan Dye and her partner Ashley presented me with more knowledge and the raw materials to try again and really begin to understand this complex natural dyeplant.
The search for true reds has continued since then with better results and the horticultural skills to propagate this plant to grow it for the best dye.
So what now? The slow cycle of madder growing, harvesting and dyemaking continues at Granton castle walled garden with a new row planted this spring. Seed for another form of madder is winging its way to Edinburgh from a Dutch botanical garden and I shall see how it compares to my madder plants first propagated from splits back in 2022 and again in 2026.
Botanical Prints and Natural Dyes 