Progress on the Allotment

My dyer's garden is filling up nicely. I must acknowledge that these will be little more than an illustration of the various dye plants that can be grown locally. To produce a viable crop I'd have to grow considerably larger quantities of each plant. Madder, for example, will not yield mature roots of three or four years. Woad, on the other hand, should be harvested in its first year, at the rosette stage and before the flower head forms. Nevertheless, it is useful to learn the properties and growing habits of the dyestuffs I am using for my woven banners and hopefully, later on in the year, I'll be able to plant out some of the seedlings that are beginning to sprout in my greenhouse.