Yellow Chamomile - The gold treasure in the color garden at Rytne
Welcome to the very first story here on our blog, In Tune with Nature. Through this blog, I want to take you behind the scenes at Rytne Angora. Here, I share my passion for traditional crafts, Angora rabbits, the silk-soft Angora wool, and nature's own colors.
Today is about one of my absolute favorites in the dye garden: Dyer's chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria). If you have purchased the new natural dyeing kit, it is precisely the dried flower heads from this ray of sunshine that you have brought home with you.
A faithful and historical dye plant
Dyer's chamomile belongs to the daisy family. It is not originally native to Norway, but arrived here in the 18th century with imported grass seed. Today, you can find it growing wild in roadsides in Southern Norway, but it has also become a very popular garden plant. It forms dense perennial clumps with dark green leaves that smell fresh and herbaceous.
Did you know that farmers used to hate it? It was considered a stubborn weed in the fields, and animals refused to eat it while grazing due to its strong, aromatic taste. In folk medicine, it was called ekregress or goose-gold and was used for everything from epilepsy to dropsy (edema).
But for those of us who dye, it is quite simply a golden treasure. The species name tinctoria means "for dyeing" in Latin. Before chemical dyes arrived in the 19th century, it was this plant that provided the deep, clear yellow color for the traditional scarves in many of our folk costumes. In English, it is often called Dyer's Chamomile. Yellow dye from nature often has a reputation for fading quickly in the sun. But Dyer's chamomile stands out. It is incredibly lightfast and retains its intense color extremely well over time when bound to the wool with alum.
When the Dyer's chamomile explodes in yellow during the summer, it is because the flower heads are stuffed with chemical compounds called flavonoids. Specifically, the plant contains large amounts of the natural dyes apigenin, luteolin, and quercetin. In nature, these substances act as the plant's own sunscreen, but in the dye pot, they work pure magic.
Flavonoids love to bind to metals. When you use alum in the water (which contains aluminum), the flavonoids from the chamomile form a chemical partnership with the wool. It is precisely this unique bond that makes the color so incredibly durable. While other natural yellow dyes can quickly fade in the sun, the flavonoids in Dyer's chamomile are known to provide one of the most lightfast and durable yellows in the entire plant kingdom.
How to grow your own dye
The best thing about Dyer's chamomile is how rewarding it is to grow yourself. Here at Rytne, it has a permanent spot in the sun (admittedly, when it is sunny...). Do you have this plant in your garden, or are you thinking about growing it? Then you can keep these things in mind;
Height and stems: Dyer's chamomile develops stiff, straight, and often branched stems that usually grow to between 30-70 cm tall. The flower heads sit singly and majestically at the very end of these long, sturdy stems, which makes them very easy to cut off during harvesting.
Clump-forming spread: Since the plant is a perennial, it forms dense, solid, and bushy clumps that become about as wide as they are tall (approx. 50-70 cm). It stays in its fixed spot in the bed as a faithful clump.
Generous seed dispersal: Although the clumps stay in place, every single yellow flower head produces over a hundred small seeds. The plant therefore spreads very willingly and naturally around the garden by means of self-seeding. If the seeds find a dry, sunny patch of open soil, they quickly take root. If you want full control over the spreading, just cut off the flower heads before they have a chance to wither and set seeds - which fits perfectly anyway, since it is the fresh flowers we want in the dye pot.
Sun and dry soil: It loves sunny spots and thrives best in well-drained, preferably slightly dry and lime-rich soil.
Pick often: The more you harvest of the yellow daisy-like flowers, the more new buds the plant creates. It blooms continuously from July until the frost arrives.
Drying: Pick the flowers on a sunny day, spread them out in a dry place, and store them in the dark in paper bags or glass jars until winter comes.
Have you tried dyeing with plants in your kitchen before, or do you have any questions about the process? Feel free to leave a comment below, and I will answer as soon as I can :)
Sources: Facts about the plant's history, botany, and flavonoid chemistry are taken from the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (Store norske leksikon), the Plant Protection Encyclopedia (Planteverkleksikonet), the Department of Biosciences at UiO, and the Norwegian Crafts Institute (Norges Husflidslag).
Do you want to try the historical dye magic yourself? Click here to see our natural dyeing kit for beginners in the online shop
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