Ethnobotany and Dyeing with Plants: Wrap Up

For this year's "Ethnobotany" theme, I delved into the plants that indigenous people groups use for dyeing fabric. To narrow the scope, I decided to focus on three specific people groups—Tlingit and Chimmesyan/Tsimshian (Alaska coast and Canada interior), Ohlone/Costanoan (Northern California), and Polynesian/Pacific Islander (Hawaii); and to carry out my research at the survey level rather than the detailed level.

I quickly realized that I had to expand my vision from dyeing fabric with plants, to dyeing and decorating fabric, baskets, and other objects. I also realized that previously my perspective has been on the plant explorers who were learning about dye plants, rather than on the people who were already using them! I thoroughly enjoyed the research and learned so much!

A year full of life!

Ethnobotany

The Learn More sections provide links to additional information, YouTube videos, and other resources.

Ethnobotany and Dyeing With Plants

Ethnobotany: Tlingit's and Dyeing with Plants

Ethnobotany: Muwekma Ohlone Basketry

Ethnobotany: Kanaka Maoli Kapa

Outings in Alaska

I spent six weeks in Alaska with my parents, brother, and a few childhood friends, and enjoyed the beautiful "Great Land". My sister and Aunt Char also travelled to Alaska to visit this beautiful place. Some topics appear in Field Notes. 

Death with Dessert, Mendenhall Glacier, and the Boy Scout Trail (Field Notes for April 2025)

Spring in Southeast Alaska

Audubon Cruise in Southeast Alaska

Jazz and Classics, Toads and Bears, Hikes and Drives, Jensen-Olson Garden, Capital Killers, and TrollFest (Field Notes for May 2025)

Fond Memories of Alaska

More Fond Memories of Alaska

Mom and Marianne at the Glacier and Eagle Beach, and More Family Outings in Juneau (Field Notes for August 2025)

Mom and Aunt Char with Dave at The Hangar (Field Notes for September 2025)

Outings Closer to Home

Visited some diverse gardens here in the Bay Area, and pitched in to help out at the food bank.

Mountain View Cemetery

The Gardens at Lake Merritt (Field Notes for July 2025)

Salesforce Rooftop Garden

Alameda County Community Food Bank

Landscaping

Celebrated our new landscape, learned more about its plants, developed a maintenance schedule, and enjoyed the pollinators and birds that visit the space. 

Great Backyard Bird Count 2025

Bringing Back the Natives 2025

Bird Buddy

Mushrooms (Field Notes for January 2025)

Landscaping: One Year Report

Salamander, Heucheras, and California Poppies (Field Notes for April 2025)

Flowers, Weeding, and Birds (Field Notes for June 2025)

Shadow Play

Cicadas and More Weeding (Field Notes for July 2025)

Summer Flowers (Field Notes for August 2025)

🌷Spring Watch  🌞Summer Watch  🍂Fall Watch  ⛅Winter Watch

Hikes with OTHG (and good places for lunch)

Mari, Gaymond and I explored regional parks all over the Bay Area with the Over-the-Hills-Gang (including cookies at the half-way point—especially the crispy ginger and lemon cookies—but we're not too picky)! The only thing better than hiking with friends, is following it up with lunch and good conversation. Whenever possible, Mari, Gaymond and I tried to find a good place for lunch after our hike. 

Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park (Sparky's Giant Burgers)

Point Pinole Regional Shoreline (Richmond Kebab and Gyros)

Wildcat Regional Park

Briones Regional Park

Ted and Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline Park (Slow Hand BBQ)

Sobrante Ridge Botanical Regional Preserve (The Noodle House)

Contra Loma Regional Park

Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve (Taqueria Las Compadres)

Knox Miller Regional Shore

Huckleberry Botanical Regional Preserve (TGI Oni Sushi)

Marina Bay Richmond

Pinole Shores (Yo Sushi)

Dotson Family Marsh Richmond (Modu Hawaiian BBQ)

Carquinez Strait (Crocket Cocina)

MLK Shoreline (Dragon Rouge Bistro Alameda)

Tilden Park (potluck)

Road Trip to Mesa Verde

My husband and I always enjoy a good road trip. This time we travelled to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

Not Quite the North Rim

Mesa Verde National Park

Kicks on Route 66

Field Notes 2025

Continued reporting observations and experiences throughout the month. Most entries are about gardens, plants, and nature, but some are about all the life that happens around that.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Plant Hunters

On a quest to learn more about plant hunters in the Americas, this time in the Western United States.

Edith Van Allen Murphy (California and the Great Basin)

Isabella Aiona Abbott (Hawaii)

Movies

Went to the movies to learn about embroidery (to enhance our understanding of dyeing with plants) and got some ideas for keeping a dye journal for our projects.

Through the Eye of a Needle: Stories from An Indian Desert

Keeping A Dye Journal

Books

Read a few good books to learn more about plant hunters and historical gardening.

Imaginative Small Gardens

Indian Uses of Native Plants

Plants of Old Hawaii

Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants

Winter Watch

We have been having the best fall here in the Bay Area - a few rainstorms, some beautiful cold, clear days, heavy fog in the early hours, and some gray, overcast days. It's a pleasure to get out into the garden to work on a few chores or into nature to walk, hike, or walk the dog. It's also a pleasure to return home to inside projects, hot chocolate, and a good book or a movie. The variety is invigorating.

Jewel Lake in Tilden Park

With such a beautiful fall, it's hard to believe that the winter solstice is only three weeks away. The days are getting shorter, holidays are coming, and it's time to hunker down for the dark days of winter. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving 2025

Greetings to my fellow gardeners, family and friends! Hope you are planning for some kind of gathering with good eats, whether a bowl of soup with a friend, an eclectic Friendsgiving celebration, or a large family dinner with all the fixings. These gatherings will look different for all of us, depending on individuals, families, nationalities, cultures, and season of life.

Roasting vegetables for a good harvest soup

This is also a good time for making a gratitude list (especially when life circumstances seem a little bleak). There is typically something to be grateful for, and often more than you expected when you started the list. Family, friends, shelter, something to eat, good books, nature, wildlife, pets, good memories, life lessons, talents, interests, hobbies, and more are on my list. I've found that sometimes I can even be grateful for hard times and painful life lessons, with hindsight and the perspective of time.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!