I'm playing with 'bundle dyeing' using rose petals. Here fresh red rose petals and dried dahlia petals. Bundle dyeing is great because you don't need much plant material to create fun patterns. Using vinegar (acid) or baking powder (alkali) will change the tones. As the cloth dries the colours change too.
I'm also not that into autumn gardening...everything is soggy, always loads of digging as the garden is still a work in progress, but inevitably I wind up hitting a pan of chalk that is impossible to get through 😩 And I always give myself way too much to do! Saving grace is it's been pretty mild here lately.
I like autumn gardening, may be I don't want the summer gardening to get over. My problem is the soil isn't free draining and if I walk on it, I will end up doing more damage than good.
I really wish the grass would dry a bit and I could mow it. It is such a soggy mess there.
Interesting effect there @Fire, will the colours last through washing?
Artemis, the correct white rose was delivered yesterday but I was blindsided that the courier stood there saying he had to collect the wrong one. I quickly yanked it out and stuffed it into a carrier bag, it was delivered potted but I wasn't giving my pot. Garden Plants Online really should have communicated better I was only given a new order notification, nothing else, after I emailed them about the wrong rose once it had pink flowers. Anyway, I am pleased now (see below) also Easy Does It which should be called Always Does It, and Golden Beauty
Scarborough Fair, Wildberry with England's Rose and Chandos Beauty behind, The Prince and Utopia.
I am not enamoured with autumn gardening either so am doing it in shorter stints. I have started pruning and repotting the roses that have stopped. OK, I've done 1! But lots of bulbs have been planted.
@Tack At the moment I'm just experimenting with hues, so the cloth featured has not been mordanted to make the colour fast. I'm thinking of using it for gift wrapping.
Coreopsis gives one of the petal colours, if anyone happens to grow it and fancies trying it out. You can steam-iron it, hammer it, bundle dye it, use it for making dyes, paints or ink. Roses give some of the best colour too.
I've just watched your linked video @Fire, I am so glad my children are no longer young! I like your strong red very much. My daughter in law is interested in natural dying, I've only ever done it with colouring Easter eggs. My petal project next year is collecting enough for 100 guests to throw as confetti at another son's wedding. I've found fresh petals keep their colour better through the drying process so I'll have to sacrifice a lot of good roses. Fingers crossed there will be a hot season, I don't want to buy a dehydrator.
@Tack From my own experiments it seems that deep coloured petals hold their hue best. With dark roses or dahlias, the petals dry fine on their own as long as the are separated, so they don't rot. I use large sieves, paper or cloth to lay them out on flat. If you have an airing cupboard, greenhouse or outhouse or floor of a spare room to lay the petals out on, then great.
Give them a shuffle every day to make sure none are stuck together. I harvest the flowers just as they are going over - you could think of it as slightly early dead heading. Dark tulips petals are wonderful too, and can be quite 3D and sculptural as the petals dry.
Another way to try is to have a bowl of petals and aerate them (sprinkle) with your fingers and separate each one several times a day, to stop them from rotting. I have found the petals take about a week to dry.
To hang roses to dry you would need long stems, many types have blooms that shatter, and the petals often discolour.
If you have large batches of petals, you could put them in a baking tray in a v low oven and see how that works. I would keep the petals in paper bags (not plastic or glass) so they can continue to thoroughly dry over time.
Thank you for that @Fire. I should have explained I've done this before for my other son's wedding. It was easy because it was at the end of summer 2018 so trays of single layered petals dried in a day in the sun, had to watch for gusts though. Sunny windowsills work well too. Hypericum and delphiniums make excellent bright confetti, smaller rose petals make better throwing confetti than large ones. This time I'm only allowed pale petals...
Edit to add a pic of the leftovers, 3 years on not looking so great I should despose of them but my lovely daughter in law still runs her fingers through them. The lavender grains and delphinium holding up well
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I'm also not that into autumn gardening...everything is soggy, always loads of digging as the garden is still a work in progress, but inevitably I wind up hitting a pan of chalk that is impossible to get through 😩 And I always give myself way too much to do! Saving grace is it's been pretty mild here lately.
I really wish the grass would dry a bit and I could mow it. It is such a soggy mess there.