Biz 417

Marigolds
Marigolds may not be out of the ordinary, yet they produce exceptional yellows and oranges for natural dyes. Rachel Denbow grows African and French varieties. She snaps off blooms, then throws the petals into the dye pot. With plenty of sun and water, she says, her marigolds grow back from the dead-heading in about a week. 

Cosmos
Just as the tall-stemmed wildflower called orange cosmos can easily share a bed with marigolds, so cosmos blossoms offer a shade in the same color range—a bright tangerine hue. “It’s one of my favorites,” Denbow says. Grown from seed, cosmos also bloom from summer to early fall, like marigolds. 

Hibiscus
The color of a hibiscus bush’s flowers determines the resulting dye color. Denbow’s light purple hibiscus yields a lavender or gray dye. “Some of the darker hibiscus, like the red ones, give kind of a berry color,” she says, adding that hibiscus is 
also easy to grow. 

Queen Anne’s lace
Another of Denbow’s favorites is Queen Anne’s lace, a white wildflower that produces a really bright citron green dye. “It’s beautiful,” she says, noting that only two or three plants offer that shade. Because the flower is found along roads or highways, take only what you need, Denbow says, so you’re not leaving a gaping hole in the landscape.