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róisín

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About 18 months ago, I made a name plaque for Niamh, and here at last is a similar one for her sister Róisín, inspired by Australian wildflowers.

I’ve read that the parcel mail between the US and Australia is flowing freely again, after a couple of years of major slowdown. Let’s see if this gets there in time for her July birthday!

indigo

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Astrida and I are going to do some indigo dyeing today. I realized that I know nothing about the indigo plant, so did some research (thank you, internet).

True indigo is a legume with pink or violet flowers. It has been naturalized to tropical and temperate Asia, as well as parts of Africa, but its native habitat is unknown since it has been in cultivation worldwide for many centuries.

Dye is obtained from the processing of the plant’s leaves. Today most dye is synthetic, but natural dye from I. tinctoria is still available, and that’s what we’re going to be using today.

dudleya

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Dudleya, commonly known as liveforevers, is a genus of succulent plants endemic to southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island.

They do not, in fact, live forever. In the wild, many species of Dudleya are vulnerable, as poachers and habitat loss threaten their populations. Poached plants are often shipped to Asia, especially South Korea.

We have one little plant (obtained from CNPS), and it’s starting to flower! Go forth and multiply, little Dudleya!