Friday, May 30, 2014

Can You Color Coconut Liner?

I have taken a few days off from the gardens and I can't say I haven't enjoyed them.  It is raining off and on, however.  I have currently five "feathers" in the peacock.  The coconut liner has come in and I want it green.  when I considered painting it, I felt that it would not "stick" and the green peacock would turn brown, looking like it was dying.  So I and two other people I asked came to the same conclusion....food coloring.
I have gotten much better at the screening, etc.  I use the henry ford method, if you will....do one concept at a time.  Instead of digging, screening, planting a plant one by one, do one concept at a time...you think I would have learned this by now.

I was looking at pictures online of other peacocks and this will be fine. 

This is more purple than the picture shows.

Lots of Marigolds

I will gradually shorten and widen the feathers.  I was thinking of doing the "outline" of the tail in mexican heather.  This is still the plan.

I think if the coconut liners green sticks it will looked filled in.

I will need to trim the lawn around it shortly.  Still no word on the mower I am wanting to buy.  The pool liner has finally been ordered.  I don't recall when I said I would show the garden...I think a month from the 6th...but I am not sure it will be ready to show...but we will see...I have gotten a lazy bug again lately.

I think it will look good.

Here is the coconut liner roll I bought.  I think it is two feet wide and 33 or 36 feet long.  Don't remember off the top, but I was going to line the inside of the topiary.  I bought four gallons of green food coloring...I am hoping this will work.  I was gonna lay the liner flat on a tarp outside and use a sprayer to stain it.  It's a filament so I am hoping this works....

Mom gave me this rose.  I don't know what it is but it is a pretty orange shade.

Gerbera Daisies are coming up

JFK Rose

Mr. Lincoln

This time of year I think is the worst.  It is typically humid and hot, without any rain in sight.  So I love to see rain this time of year...July is typically much wetter.

Storms are brewing....

Still more to come today...I love a good storm, don't you?

2 comments:

Jean Campbell said...

I think the Mexican Heather on the ends of the Peacock tail is a great idea.

I wish I were close enough to help 'play' with the dyeing of the coco fiber.

Remember how you put vinegar in the dye bath when dyeing Easter eggs? Vinegar acts as a mordant.

You use different mordants according to the material you are dyeing and it helps the dye take better.

Coir is a cellulose fiber rather than an animal fiber like wool or silk.

-- and that's about as much as I know about dyeing. It will be fun to learn what works best.

Cerberus German shepherds said...

I had no idea about the vinegar...thanks for mentioning it. The feather came in yesterday and I was going to "test" the coconut liner with the dye. I'll go get a small bottle until the gallons come in...Thanks for the tip!