Towers of tiny pale yellow flowers sway in the wind, the air thrumming with scores of pollinators. At the base of each spike, the clusters of flowers have already been replaced by seeds; it's these seeds that hold this plant's secret.
This is weld, a plant that has been used by humans for thousands of years to impart a vibrant yellow colour to fibres. From colouring the robes of the Roman Vestal Virgins to helping produce the green clothes worn by Robin Hood's band, weld has played a key role in the fabrics of our past.
For a growing community of natural dyers across the UK, plants like weld also have an important role in the future of dyeing.
In a quiet valley in Devon I find Sophie Holt, founder of Pigment Organic Dyes. Pigment is one of five 'microenterprises' based on a corner of a 60-hectare farm, surrounded by low hills filled with the chatter of birds and the myriad shades of ancient woodland. Sophie is harvesting crackerjack marigolds, their yellow and orange heads bursting with layers of overlapping petals. "They always remind me of Indian weddings," she says with a smile, explaining that the flowers will dye fibres a beautiful mustard colour.
As she plucks flowerheads and places them in harvesting crates, I ask her how she got started in horticulture.
"I began helping social enterprises and charities with their marketing, and through that discovered care farming," she explains, telling me how care farms provide therapeutic services for people with learning disabilities or mental-health issues alongside food growing. "I thought, instead of doing a market-garden care farm where we're growing veg, I could grow dye plants; I recognised there were very few UK-grown dye plants on the market." Following a successful pilot last winter, Sophie's vision is now in action.
Bu hikaye BBC Countryfile Magazine dergisinin July 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye BBC Countryfile Magazine dergisinin July 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
We Are an Island Nation - So Let's Protect Our Seas - Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it.
Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it. We live inside thousands of miles of coastline, in a nation whose borders were created by nature and made us what we are.
Discover Jurassic Coast - With its towering cliffs, sweeping beaches and pretty seaside towns, the shoreline of Dorset and east Devon is spectacular.
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Viking shores
We picture Vikings marauding coastal settlements, looting and raiding. But what was life really like in the Viking Age? Historian Eleanor Barraclough reveals what the ancient artefacts found on Britain's shores tell us about our formidable forebears
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Cast in bone
Cuttlefish bones washed up on our shores have been used to make jewellery since ancient times. Jo Caird meets a craftswoman who's keeping the art alive on the Kent coast
EDIBLE SEAWEEDS
An ancient food harvested by humans for millennia, seaweeds bring an intense and rich flavour of the sea to a wide range of dishes, as well as essential mind-and-body-boosting nutrients
Spines and sulky faces
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Sea stars
The playful performances of Britain's bottlenose dolphins attract avid fans - but they deserve personal space
Harris's wildly beautiful beach
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