Cynthia St. Charles Store

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Wildflowers at my Home on the Range


In my quest for native plants to use as dye stuff, I also added "Dyes from American Native Plants" by Lynne Richards and Ronald J. Tyrl to my library. This book is both informative and frustrating. The authors (both academic) have done extensive research in the use of native plants for dyeing. The references are incredible, really. The frustration is that the authors live in Oklahoma. A totally different ecosystem with completely different "native plants" than those native to the cold arid climate where I live in Montana. I have been trying to find related species here, but I am not having a lot of luck.

We have had an unusually wet spring and summer here and the wildflowers have been more spectacular than ever! The flax has covered the hillside.



The Sego Lily has been prolific this year.

This Scarlet Guara blooms along my driveway.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dear Cynthia, I look forward to viewing you site on a regular basis. Montana was my childhood home for nearly 20 years and I have returned to the Billings area twice...once to begin my teaching career (in Shepherd) and once to realize a dream to return to my roots. I live in Spokane once again, but am enjoying following your blog. Thanks for the memories.