Poem: "Rich Dyes Flow from a Cottage Garden"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the January 5, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from alatefeline. It has been sponsored by janetmiles. This poem belongs to the series Arts and Crafts America.


"Rich Dyes Flow from a Cottage Garden"
-- a villanelle


Rich dyes flow from a cottage garden: gray
as a goose's wing, and a soft sage green
snuggling a startled pink where they lay.

Elderberries bring dye as blue as clay
and a brighter sky blooms from the black bean.
Rich dyes flow from a cottage garden: gray

from raspberry leaves, bedstraw like red hay,
and flowerheads of yellow yarrow seen
snuggling a startled pink where they lay.

Queen Anne's lace gives muted greens, and they say
madder can bring pinks from dingy to clean.
Rich dyes flow from a cottage garden: gray

from the logwood and poplar leaves that play
like storm clouds, orange from onions that lean,
snuggling a startled pink where they lay.

Hank after hank hangs on branches to sway
as they dry, each color a vivid sheen.
Rich dyes flow from a cottage garden: gray
snuggling a startled pink where they lay.


* * *

Notes:

This is the original prompt, and the photo I chose as inspiration has gray, pink, and gray-green yarn.

The villanelle is a repeating-interlocking poem based on two refrains.

Here's a long list of natural dye colors.

Herbs to Dye For
Gray: poplar, raspberry
Black: alder, black walnut
Brown: burdock, comfrey, fennel, geranium, onion skin
Pink: bloodroot, chicory, madder
Red: dandelion, hops, madder, St. Johns wort, sweet woodruff,
Yellow: wild celery (light yellow)
Gold: agrimony, goldenrod, plantain, safflower
Orange: ground lichen
Green: agrimony, angelica, betony, coltsfoot, foxglove, marjoram, Oregon grape, rosemary, tansy, yarrow
Blue: elder, elecampane, indigo, woad
Purple: sunflower seeds

Yarrow flowers tend to make yellow dye, although if you use other colors -- they come in reds and oranges too -- then you might get darker results.

Bedstraw makes shades of pink to peach.

Queen Anne's Lace produces a gray-green.

Logwood makes a steel gray.

Compare different types of yarn ball.

Comments

[readera]

😁💖💖

[alatefeline]

Oh yay! Janetmiles, thank you for sponsoring!