Natures Rainbow

Natures Rainbow Expert in growing a range of the best plants for dyeing wool and silk. Over ten years experience plant dyeing fibre, yarn and fabric. Visits by appointment

After using our home grown dyeplants for our own crafting for many years, we are now able to present small quantities for sale. We have accumulated considerable experience in dyeing over the last ten years and are available for workshops and talks. Visitors are welcome by appointment. We are 5 minutes walk from Hitchin railway station.

There will be a limited sale of Japanese indigo, woad and Dyer's Chamomile plants on sale at the Growing People 20 year ...
10/06/2026

There will be a limited sale of Japanese indigo, woad and Dyer's Chamomile plants on sale at the Growing People 20 year celebration event this comming Sunday. All welcome.

The Third variety of Japanese Indigo planted today. This is Senbon a particularly vigorous variety which can become quit...
07/06/2026

The Third variety of Japanese Indigo planted today. This is Senbon a particularly vigorous variety which can become quite unruly at times. These seedlings are in a bad way having been in the seed trays for way too long. But they will survive and do well.

Meanwhile in the dye garden the Kojyoko Japanese indigo is recovering. From my rather brutal propagation. I grow the pla...
07/06/2026

Meanwhile in the dye garden the Kojyoko Japanese indigo is recovering. From my rather brutal propagation. I grow the plants in small seed trays maybe a couple of hundred plants crammed in together. Then I separate the plants out losing perhaps 95 percent of the roots before planting. But they are tough plants and they survive. I simply don't have the time or space to pot them up as I should.

Digging over another part of the dye garden to get it ready for the second variety of Japanese indigo.Digging has been l...
28/05/2026

Digging over another part of the dye garden to get it ready for the second variety of Japanese indigo.

Digging has been less popular in the last decade as "No Dig" gardening has become fashionable. No dig gardening is attractive because it sounds like less work and is good for the soil. Whether it is less work is a matter of debate. To do it right requires a lot of compost and making your own is a lot of work. Buying it in is expensive. So there are positives and negatives.

Digging remains popular because it's one of the easiest ways of keeping w**ds under control without using herbicides and it keeps you fit and makes it easier to plant your precious plants. The soil is damaged in the process and may not be as fertile but the advantages to the gardener are many.

Now that the risk of frost has passed, planting of Japanese indigo can finally begin. This is Kojyoko the white flowerin...
21/05/2026

Now that the risk of frost has passed, planting of Japanese indigo can finally begin. This is Kojyoko the white flowering self bushing variety. The first of my 5 varieties. Flowering is often late and it's a slow grower which is the reason I'm planting it first. It is an excellent producer of indigo.

A mutant woad plant. Every so often woad throws up a peculiar plant, this one (the two flower spikes in the forground)...
15/05/2026

A mutant woad plant. Every so often woad throws up a peculiar plant, this one (the two flower spikes in the forground) is producing side shoots instead of flowers. It could be a mutant but maybe also a plant virus has caused this. Or it could be genetically recessive genes. Woad is one of the most genetically diverse dye plants producing many different phenotypes in a population. Always something new.

This is the Groundswell dye plant plot after 1.5 years neglect. There are still dye plants here. Madder, Saw-wort, Woad,...
26/04/2026

This is the Groundswell dye plant plot after 1.5 years neglect. There are still dye plants here. Madder, Saw-wort, Woad, Dyer's Greenw**d and some other stuff. But I'm going to have to let it go, I just don't have the time and energy to sort it out. 😕

I have managed to maintain all 5 varieties of Japanese Indigo (Maruba, Kojyoko, Senbon, Chijimiba, and the generic Long ...
05/03/2026

I have managed to maintain all 5 varieties of Japanese Indigo (Maruba, Kojyoko, Senbon, Chijimiba, and the generic Long Leaf). Started some seeds of each variety early to try to stimulate early flowering. Each variety is distinctly different even at this two leaf stage. The most obvious one is Maruba because of its reddish baby leaves. A slow growing variety it has the prettiest and most intense pink flowers of all the varieties so it's not surprising that that pinkness shows itself even at this early stage.

Spring and once again I'm reminded about the w**d suppressing abilities of Japanese Indigo. These are the beds from last...
05/03/2026

Spring and once again I'm reminded about the w**d suppressing abilities of Japanese Indigo. These are the beds from last year with only the dead stalks of last year's crop. Almost zero w**ds!

05/03/2026

When Katie Allen began working with sheep, she saw how little value fleeces were bringing. 🐑

Now, the Wiltshire farmer has created her own knitwear brand to give her wool the traceability and return she believes it deserves. 🙌

Through the Great British Wool Revival, her fleeces are part of a wider push to reconnect farmers and fashion.

READ MORE: https://ow.ly/EjKF50Yj7b6
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Fashion Roundtable | Katie Cotmarsh

Address

55 Walsworth Road
Hitchin
SG49SX

Telephone

+441462422814

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