This unique late summer workshop will be held in the backyard and garden of Tate House. Participants will be dyeing cotton fabric using the same botanical dye bath method that was employed in the eighteenth century.

We will also be exploring “bundle dyeing” (aka eco-printing), an ancient alchemical process that extracts botanical dyes from fresh and dried flowers and leaves. All botanical materials will be locally sourced from home gardens in the area and will be representative of the plants growing in the Tate House garden. Participants will take home their botanical creations.

An informative talk about daily life in the 18th century will reveal how the Tate House garden was utilized for medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and practical household purposes.

The workshop will be headed up by Tate House Museum volunteers Colleen Griffin, Sadhana Philbrick, and Barbara Luke. Colleen is a registered horticultural therapist (HTR) and has been practicing horticultural therapy in Southern Maine since 2018. She is the co-owner of Cultivating Well-Being, LLC and serves on the faculty of the Horticultural Therapy Institute in Denver, Colorado. Sadhana is a Tate House Museum board member interested in plants and uses of the colonial garden. Barbara is the longtime head gardener at Tate House Museum and offers colonial garden tours for visitors.

This is an interactive, hands-on workshop for ages 14 and up and will be held outside. Please dress for the weather and note the rain date (August 29) before signing up. Tickets available at the door or purchase in advance online.

$30 per person | $20 Tate House Museum members