growing indigo

Still enjoying the gardens at the Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts... where there is a basketry area, a dyeing area and a fibers area.  They prune regularly and fiber artists are encouraged to contact the master gardener regarding permission to help when they have scheduled harvesting days.  Much of it is used for demonstrations on site, but some plants grow abundantly in this tropical setting and they would be happy to have artists use it and share what they make with the excess garden stuffs.

This is the bushy variety that thrives here - Indigofera tinctoria - in full bloom. I had one in my yard for years and it self-seeded until the great freeze about a decade ago and since then I haven't had any luck getting my seeds to grow up big and strong. Of course, I'm not the dedicated gardener I once was ....  Click here for a great resource for growing indigo and extracting the blue dye. 

Next week, a slow indigo pot not from pre-reduced crystals - but with indigo powder and henna.
See you then, Diane