On the high moor of Dartmoor, late spring into early summer is a bleak time for colour collection. This is when I look to the hedgerows, ditches, and our back garden for colour. I've been carefully cultivating our backyard so that I have a ready-supply of dock, dandelion, and nettles. I'm sure our neighbours are thrilled with my gardening choices but no one has commented directly, yet.

It has been reported that the root of the dock plant gives a lovely pink colour. They're also notoriously difficult to uproot thanks to an extremely strong taproot. I've not been able to tug them up, and I haven't committed to digging them out with a shovel. Maybe next year.

Broad leaf dock - Rumex obtusifolius

Another source of yellow, along with dandelions and gorse. From my perspective, this is closer to the acidic yellow of weld, but a little less intense. By reducing the liquid, and applying a couple of layers of colour, you can get close (see the pool of yellow in the top right sample).

Ink Recipe

This recipe is kitchen-safe.

1. Collect the leaves from a few rosettes. For this recipe I collected about 30 large leaves. (Check for slugs and discard any you might find!)
2. Divide the leaves according to colour (two bundles is sufficient): in the first bundle, put the youngest, greenest leaves; in the second bundle, put any leaves or stems with red spots.
3. Roughly chop both bunches of leaves. Proceed with the greenest bundle of leaves first.
4. Put the leaves into a pot and cover with water. If you have some, add 1tsp of alum. Otherwise, a splash of vinegar might help. We want to reduce the pH of the cooking water.
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Strain the liquid to remove plant material.
7. Return the liquid to the saucepan, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by at least two thirds, or the liquid is "dark enough" when a test strip of paper is dipped into the pot.
8. Transfer to small jars, and add gum Arabic to suit. I prefer viscose ink and add at 10:1 spruce bark water to gum Arabic (or more). Stir well.
9. Clean the pot thorough, and then repeat steps 4-8 but this time, add 2tbsp baking soda instead of alum. (NOT both!)

If you wish to reduce your energy consumption: instead of cooking the leaves, pack the leaves into a jar, pour boiling water over them. Leave the mixture on the windowsill to soak until the colour has leached out. You may still need to reduce the liquid before adding gum Arabic. A bit of salt may help prevent mould growth.

To use the ink: Apply to paper with a brush, dip pen, or even a small twig.

Yellow is difficult to achieve in winter and does not store very well. To preserve it for the winter months, you can convert the liquid to a dried pigment using a method known as laking. I cover this technique in session seven of From Galls to Nettles, and also Printed Notes On: Making Botanical Pigments.

I would love to see what you make with this recipe. Send me a picture if you give it a try.