At the EPA today, we’ve been caring for the Urban Weeds Community Garden by “airing out” some of the Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris) that has taken root throughout the site. As a rhizomatic plant, Mugwort extends its roots horizontally and is able to develop a complex and thick network with just a small amount of soil or permeable surface. Rather than merely disposing of our Mugwort friends and mentors, we are experimenting with natural dye making – using the leaves of the Mugwort as a pigment for textiles. Above is documentation from some of our experiments. We used a recipe of boiling water for 90 minutes with the plant fully submerged. We’ll let it cool over night, and boil again for 60 minutes, and then the dye should be ready for dipping.