Event Type : Education

Have you wanted to learn how to dye clothing? Do you love plants and flowers? Now’s your chance to combine your interests and take your plant-y creativity to the next level! Goose Summer, an LA-based botanical dye company, will lead this workshop on naturally dyeing fabric with plants from Arlington Garden. We will cover how to make flower print patterns with flower pressing techniques and dye with plants foraged from the garden. We will also cover safe practices with natural dyes and what materials are needed to dye using botanicals at home! Learn about the flora of Los Angeles and how to use plants as natural dyes. Plant dyeing can completely change your perspective on the plants around you and how to harness and respect their power. Audrey King is a fabric artist and poet living in Los Angeles. She is the creator behind Goose Summer, a plant dyeing business that specializes in making sustainable, silk hair accessories and other adornments.

In the Victorian language of flowers, hundreds of blooms were ascribed specific meanings based on folklore, science, and ancient history. Learn how this culture of hidden botanical messages came to be, and the fascinating stories behind specific blooms and their significance. Crape myrtle, for example, is an emblem for "eloquence," while marigold represents “despair”. Karen Azoulay will be giving a talk about the history of floriography and read from her book Flowers and Their Meanings, The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms. She will reveal the surprising stories connected to orange blossom, amaranth, rosemary, geranium and other flowering plants that can be found in Arlington Garden. Participants at the talk will get to sample rosehip tea made from California native roses grown in the garden.* *people with certain medical conditions should avoid rosehip tea.