Top 12 'Color-Harvest' Botanical Dyes to cultivate at home for the Sustainable Crafter's Palette - Goh Ling Yong
There's a special kind of magic that happens when your garden and your craft room become one. It’s the quiet alchemy of transforming a flower petal into a sun-drenched yellow on silk, or a humble root into a deep, earthy red on wool. This is the world of botanical dyeing, a practice as old as time that connects us directly to the source of our color and creativity.
For the sustainable crafter, cultivating a dye garden isn't just about making beautiful things; it's a commitment to a slower, more intentional process. It's about understanding the life cycle of a plant, from seed to blossom to dye pot. You learn to appreciate the subtle variations in color that come with the changing seasons, the soil in your backyard, and the very water you use. It’s a rewarding journey that fills your garden with beauty and your crafting palette with unique, living color.
Here at the Goh Ling Yong blog, we believe that the most fulfilling projects are those that intertwine our passions. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and dig in. We’ve curated a list of the top 12 "color-harvest" plants that are perfect for cultivating at home. Whether you have a sprawling backyard or a few sunny pots on a balcony, you can start growing your own sustainable artist's palette today.
1. Marigold (Tagetes spp.)
Color Palette: Brilliant yellows, sunny oranges, and rich golds.
Marigolds are the cheerful workhorses of the dye garden. Incredibly easy to grow from seed, they practically explode with color all summer long, attracting pollinators and repelling pests. Their accessibility and the sheer volume of flowers one plant can produce make them the perfect starting point for any budding botanical dyer. Both French Marigolds (Tagetes patula) and African Marigolds (Tagetes erecta) work beautifully, offering slightly different shades of sunshine.
The real color is packed into the flower heads. You can use them fresh right off the plant or dry them for later use, which is a fantastic way to extend your dyeing season well into the winter months. To get the most vibrant, clear yellows, use an alum mordant on your protein fibers (like wool or silk). For a more muted, brassy tone, an iron modifier works wonders.
Pro Tip: Deadhead your marigold plants regularly throughout the summer. Not only does this encourage the plant to produce more blooms, but it also gives you a steady supply for your dye pot. A single, well-tended plant can provide enough color for several small projects.
2. Dyer's Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)
Color Palette: Rusty oranges, deep reds, and warm terracotta.
Also known as Plains Coreopsis, this delicate-looking wildflower is a powerhouse of pigment. Its daisy-like flowers, typically with a reddish-brown center and yellow-tipped petals, yield a stunning range of warm, earthy colors. Like marigolds, they are easy to grow from seed and will happily re-seed themselves, providing you with a dedicated patch of color year after year.
The entire flower head is used for dyeing. A simple hot water extraction will release a beautiful orange-gold dye. To coax out the deeper, rustier reds, you can alter the pH of the dye bath by adding a bit of washing soda (soda ash) or a splash of iron water (made by soaking rusty nails in vinegar and water) as a post-dye dip.
Pro Tip: For a fun eco-printing or bundle-dyeing project, press fresh Coreopsis flowers directly onto mordanted fabric, roll it tightly around a stick or pipe, bind it with string, and steam it for an hour. The results are unpredictable and breathtakingly beautiful, with perfect little floral imprints.
3. Madder (Rubia tinctorum)
Color Palette: True reds, soft pinks, coral, and terracotta orange.
If you are serious about achieving a true, lightfast red from a plant, Madder is your holy grail. This ancient dye plant has been used for millennia to create the rich reds seen in historical textiles around the world. Unlike the other plants on this list, the color doesn't come from the flower, but from the sprawling, fleshy roots of the plant.
Patience is the key virtue when growing Madder. It’s a long-term relationship; the roots need at least two to three years to mature and develop the rich alizarin and purpurin compounds that produce the red color. The roots are harvested in the fall, washed, chopped, and then simmered at a low, controlled temperature (never boil!) to extract the pigment. The results are absolutely worth the wait.
Pro Tip: Madder loves alkaline soil. Add a little lime or wood ash to the planting area to make it feel at home. The color it produces is also sensitive to the hardness of your water and the temperature of the dye bath, giving you a wonderful opportunity to experiment and achieve a wide spectrum of shades from a single plant.
4. Japanese Indigo (Persicaria tinctoria)
Color Palette: Ethereal blues, from sky and robin's egg to teal.
There is nothing quite like the magic of creating blue from a green leaf. While many plants can produce blues, Japanese Indigo is one of the most accessible for the home gardener. It’s a fast-growing annual that thrives in the heat of summer, and unlike its more famous tropical cousin (Indigofera tinctoria), you can get a beautiful harvest in a single temperate season.
The true magic of indigo lies in its unique chemistry. The indican pigment in the leaves isn't water-soluble until it's processed. A beginner-friendly method is the fresh-leaf technique: simply blend fresh leaves with ice-cold water and salt, then submerge your silk or wool fabric directly into the icey green slurry. As you pull the fabric out and it hits the oxygen in the air, you’ll witness the miraculous transformation from green to blue right before your eyes.
Pro Tip: Harvest your indigo leaves in the morning, right before the plant starts to flower, as this is when the pigment concentration is at its peak. Work quickly, as the pigment begins to degrade as soon as the leaves are picked.
5. Weld (Reseda luteola)
Color Palette: The clearest, brightest, most lightfast yellow.
Weld may look like a humble weed, but it has been prized since Roman times for producing a yellow of unparalleled clarity and permanence. While marigolds give a warm, golden yellow, Weld produces a cooler, almost electric lemon yellow. It is one of the most lightfast of all natural dyes, meaning its color resists fading from sun exposure exceptionally well.
This biennial plant uses its leaves and flower stalks for dyeing. It’s best to harvest it when it’s in full flower during its second year for the most potent color. The process is a straightforward hot water extraction. On an alum-mordanted fiber, Weld truly shines, but it can also be over-dyed with a dip in a weak indigo bath to create stunning, vibrant greens (the famous "Lincoln green" of Robin Hood's time).
Pro Tip: Weld prefers "poor" soil, so don't over-fertilize it. A bit of neglect is actually good for this plant, as it encourages it to concentrate its dye compounds.
6. Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
Color Palette: Muted pinks, soft mauves, and moody greys.
Those tall, stately spires of flowers that grace cottage gardens hold a surprising secret. While all Hollyhocks will yield some color, it's the deep, dark varieties—the purples, burgundies, and especially the "black" ones—that are most prized by dyers. They produce a lovely, subtle range of colors that are quite different from the flower's original hue.
Use the fresh petals for the best results; they can be used immediately or frozen in a bag for later. A gentle simmer is all that's needed to coax out the color. With an alum mordant, you can expect soft lavenders and pinks. Add a bit of iron, and the color shifts dramatically to beautiful shades of mossy green and slate grey.
Pro Tip: Hollyhock dye is not as lightfast as some others, making it better suited for items that won't see constant, direct sun, like scarves, yarn for weaving, or indoor decorative textiles. Embrace its ephemeral nature as part of its charm.
7. Onion (Allium cepa)
Color Palette: Golden yellows, burnt oranges, rich browns, and olive greens.
Yes, the humble onion! While you can grow onions specifically for dyeing, the true beauty of this dye source is its zero-waste potential. Simply save the dry, papery skins from your kitchen onions throughout the year. The skins of yellow onions give classic golds and oranges, while red onion skins produce more khaki and brownish tones (not the red or purple you might expect!).
This is perhaps the easiest dye to start with. Just collect a good handful of skins, cover them with water in a non-reactive pot, simmer for an hour, strain, and add your fibers. The tannins naturally present in onion skins mean you can even get decent color on cotton without a mordant, though alum will always make the color richer and longer-lasting.
Pro Tip: Keep two separate jars for collecting skins: one for yellow onions and one for red. This allows you to control your color palette more precisely. Experiment by adding a few rusty nails to your dye pot (in a muslin bag) to get deep, earthy olive greens.
8. Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
Color Palette: Soft buttery yellows, pale tans, and warm beiges.
Much like marigolds, zinnias are a joy to grow. They come in a rainbow of vibrant colors, are incredibly prolific, and are a "cut-and-come-again" flower, meaning the more you harvest, the more they bloom. While their own colors are dazzling, in the dye pot they produce a much softer, more delicate palette.
Use the entire flower head, fresh or dried. The darker, more saturated flower colors like deep reds and oranges tend to give the richest dye results, yielding beautiful shades of pale yellow and tan. They are a wonderful choice for creating subtle, nuanced background colors on fabric that you might later eco-print or embroider on top of.
Pro Tip: Combine your zinnia harvest with other yellow-producing flowers from your garden, like marigolds or dyer's chamomile, to create a unique "garden blend" dye bath with more depth and complexity.
9. Dyer's Chamomile (Cota tinctoria)
Color Palette: Warm, sunny yellows and rich antique golds.
Not to be confused with the German or Roman chamomile used for tea, Dyer's Chamomile is grown specifically for its potent yellow pigment. The cheerful, button-like yellow flowers are packed with color and have a lovely, sweet scent. It's a hardy perennial that will provide you with a reliable harvest for years to come.
Harvest the flowers just as they fully open and use them fresh or dried. A simple simmer is all that’s needed. This is another dye that benefits greatly from an alum mordant to bring out its full, brilliant potential. It’s known for producing a very clear, strong, and lightfast yellow, making it a staple in any serious dye garden.
Pro Tip: Dyer's Chamomile can be a bit of a sprawler in the garden. Give it plenty of space or be prepared to stake it. The bounty is well worth the little bit of extra maintenance.
10. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Color Palette: Olive greens, soft yellows, and warm golds.
This classic garden favorite, with its sunny petals and dark cone, is another surprising source of color. While many yellow flowers produce yellow dye, Black-Eyed Susans have the wonderful ability to produce lovely, soft olive and khaki greens, especially when used with an iron modifier.
For dyeing, you'll want to use the entire flower head—petals and dark center cone. The process is a simple hot water extraction. On alum-mordanted wool, you’ll get a soft gold. The real transformation happens when you dip that golden-yellow fiber into an iron bath, shifting the color to a beautiful, complex green. It feels like a little bit of garden magic.
Pro Tip: Black-Eyed Susans are often short-lived perennials or biennials. Let some of the last flowers of the season go to seed and scatter them in the fall to ensure you have a fresh patch of plants next year.
11. Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra)
Color Palette: A magical spectrum from pink and purple to blue and green.
This one is for the kitchen chemists and curious crafters! Red cabbage is a "fugitive" dye, meaning it is not lightfast and will fade over time. So why include it? Because it is an absolutely incredible tool for teaching the science of pH in dyeing. The pigment is a natural pH indicator.
Simply chop up the cabbage, simmer it in water to create a purple dye bath, and then let the experiments begin! Add a splash of acidic lemon juice, and the bath will turn bright pink. Add some alkaline baking soda, and it will shift to a beautiful blue or even teal-green. It’s a fantastic, fun project to do with kids and a great way to create temporary colors for special occasions.
Pro Tip: Use red cabbage to dye Easter eggs or to create pH-sensitive "magic" paper by painting it with the purple cabbage dye. Once dry, you can draw on it with a paintbrush dipped in vinegar or a baking soda solution to reveal different colors.
12. Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)
Color Palette: Muted yellows and soft, silvery greens.
This beloved culinary herb has more to offer than just its wonderful aroma and flavor. Rosemary can be used to create a subtle and gentle dye. It won't give you electric brights, but it will produce a lovely, sophisticated palette of muted yellow-greens that are beautifully understated.
You can use the leaves and stems for dyeing. Simply prune your rosemary bush as you normally would and use the trimmings in your dye pot. A long, gentle simmer will extract the color. An alum mordant will yield a soft yellow, while an iron modifier will give you a delicate, silvery sage green. The best part is that your studio will smell absolutely amazing during the process. I find this process so meditative, as Goh Ling Yong often says, "the process is as important as the product."
Pro Tip: Combine rosemary with another garden herb like sage or mint in the dye pot to create a unique, aromatic color that is truly representative of your personal garden.
Your Garden Palette Awaits
Starting a dye garden is a journey, not a destination. Begin with one or two plants that catch your eye and thrive in your climate. The simple act of planting a seed, nurturing it, and finally transforming it into color for your craft is an incredibly grounding and rewarding experience. You’ll never look at the flowers and weeds in your backyard the same way again.
So, go ahead and get your hands dirty. Plant a row of marigolds, save your onion skins, or commit to a patch of madder. Your sustainable crafter’s palette is waiting to be grown.
We’d love to see your color harvest! What are your favorite plants to use for botanical dyeing? Share your tips and triumphs in the comments below, or tag us on social media with your homegrown dye projects. Happy growing, and happy dyeing
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
Stay updated with the latest posts and insights by following on your favorite platform!