Goldenrod

One of the things I (Beth) love about working outside is the opportunity to get to know our native plants better! This week we took a deeper look at goldenrod, a native yellow flower growing in the meadow at Piney Woods Park where we often play. I had read how flowers can be used as a natural dye for fabric and yarn, so with help from the kids, I decided to try it out. 

On Monday the children happily used scissors to cut goldenrod flowers in the meadow. I took our collection home and added them to a pot with water and simmered the mixture for about 1 hr.

Then, on Wednesday the children helped me take the old, soggy flowers out of the pot. We marveled at the now brown-gray color of the once vibrant yellow flowers. After the plant material was all removed, we added white silk handkerchiefs and wool yarn to the water - which was now a golden yellow.

After another day of soaking - we removed the fabric and yarn - and Voila! - our white yarn and silk was now the same color of the goldenrod flowers we collected on Monday! Amazing. Stay tuned to see how we use our dyed fabric and yarn in some future projects!

One friend even created some art inspired by the beautiful goldenrod flowers.