July arrives in color.
The long wait is finally over. After months of tending seedlings, watching leaves unfold, and waiting for the first flowers, the dye garden is suddenly alive with blossoms. The first purple hollyhocks rise above the garden, followed by flashes of cosmos orange and purple, morning glory, coreopsis, marigold, and more.
It feels like the garden has finally opened its palette.
Every morning brings a new bloom to notice and a new possibility for the dye pot or eco-printing table. What I’ve been growing and waiting for all spring is now ready to be harvested, touched, pressed, and transformed into color.
July is also the beginning of a busy eco-printing season in the studio. My favorite place to work is the sunroom, right beside the dye flower garden. With flowers just outside the door, it feels like a natural extension of the garden—a place where harvesting and making happen side by side.
I’ve been eco-printing on both handmade paper and fabric, exploring how flowers and leaves leave their impressions on different materials. The process always carries a little anticipation: arranging the plant materials, preparing the paper or cloth, and waiting to see what will emerge.
The results are never exactly predictable. A flower may leave behind a soft shadow, a surprising burst of color, or a delicate botanical mark. Each print becomes a small record of the season and what was blooming at that particular moment.
And there is so much to experience beyond what we see—the fresh flowers in my hands, the earthy aroma of plant materials, the warmth of the summer sun, and the quiet excitement of unfolding a finished print.
After months of preparation and waiting, July feels like the moment when the garden and studio finally meet.