A Day at the Dye Garden

By Pat Doran

I leave the air-conditioned lethargy of home, walk through a wall of heat, proceed to the car inferno, drive through parched landscapes to the green and lively space which houses the PGHW dye garden. I trudge up the hill from Washington Lane , past the huge sentry logs at Awbury Farm.

The farm is serene and calm, steaming in the heat. At the top of the hill I reach the dye garden, a profusion of colorful blooms. Having never maintained a cutting garden, I didn’t understand the concept. The more blooms are cut, the more buds and blooms appear. Magic! Truly flower power.

The photo shows the second step on the way to the dye pot. Marigolds, cosmos and coneflower blooms gradually lose the water in their petals, then to be housed in a cook dry place.

That’s all from the garden, where everything and nothing changes.