All around where I live Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) grows like a weed and is in full bloom at the moment. The cheery yellow buttons that are its flowers can easily be spotted from quite a distance away.
Tansy has a rather interesting history as an herb and its uses date back for centuries. At one point in time it was used medicinally as a bitter herb and a way of ridding the body of parasites. These practices are no longer used as the herb in recent times has been found to be too potent for consumption.
In the Middle Ages, Tansy was quite popular as a strewing herb. It was dried and sprinkled about as it was believed to repel pests such as ants and flies. In many a home, one would find bouquets of Tansy hanging to dry. The leaves were also rubbed on meat in attempts to preserve it longer.
In the modern day herb garden Tansy is a welcome- if not somewhat invasive- pretty flower to grow with lacey, fern-like foliage. In bloom, Tansy attracts beneficial insects like no other plant seems to be able to. The flat and tiny blooms appear to be irresistible to our garden allies.
Today Tansy is mostly used for its ornamental purposes both in and out of the garden. Dried, the flowers are excellent in arrangements. One could also place the dried leaves in sachets to be used as an insect repellent. If it grows a bit out of hand, as it does spread by underground rhizomes, it can be pulled and added to the compost head for its potassium content.
My main interest in Tansy is for a completely different reason than the ones stated above. I grow it not only for its historicalness but also for the fact that it makes an excellent dye for wool. I have used Tansy in my dye baths multiply times and have yet to be disappointed. I have been able to yield gorgeous shades of green and yellow from this one simple herb. I recently gathered a large amount for dyeing and was able to produce the results shown in the photos below.
I love herbs that have history behind them and Tansy is no exception. To some, it might be considered too weed-like for their garden but to me it is one herb I would never leave out. After all, if it gets too out of hand I just toss it in the dye pot!
*EDITED: There appears to be some confusion over the Tansy I am referring to in this post. Please do not mistake the Common Tansy I write about, Tanacetum vulgare, for the dangerous and harmful Tansy Ragwort or Senecio jacobaea. Below I have supplied a few links to help clear up some of this confusion.
- Why you should definitely avoid Tansy Ragwort if you have horses and why Common Tansy should also be kept from them.
- Information on Tansy Ragwort
- More useful information on Tansy Ragwort
- Oregon Department of Agriculture’s info on Tansy Ragwort
- Google image search for Tansy Ragwort for identification help
- Google image search for Common Tansy for identification help
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
WOW! I had no idea tansy was a dye plant! Gorgeous shade of yellow!
Beautiful yellow flowers and the dyed wool is beautiful! gail
Oh, I should have recognized those before. I had them years ago in CA.
My friend would love this post. Last year she learned how to knit. Now she is into spinning. I know she’ll be wanting to carry a sheep under one arm and a tansy plant in the other very soon! LOL
It’s such a beautiful pastime and so real, you know? Making your own fibers and clothing from the true basics. I love it. Wish I had time to pursue it as well. Lovely yarn!
~Faith
Fantastic! What a domestic goddess you are–dyeing your own yarn/wool with Tansy! I think that is wonderful! Tansy is a beautiful plant! So I’m going out on a limb and venturing to say you are a knitter or crocheter! Me, too!
They are wonderful, Cindy, and I’m so impressed with your dyed wool — what a beautiful shade!
They are lovely flowers and such an interesting history. A bit too unruly in past gardens though. Hmm, I wonder if the deer like them? The yarn is a gorgeous shade of yellow, any special plans for that batch?
Yes, beautiful yarn! My favorite color. I can understand why tansy was used medicinally in time of yore. To me it has a very strong medicinal odor. A friend said he planted it around their mailbox, and now he wishes he hadn’t, because every time he mows he smells it.
I agree with you completely Barbee’ on the scent! To me it smells very strong and I would be rather nervous using it medicinally as it even smells too potent! Funny about your friend- I can think of worse smells to run over with the mower!
Oh it is lovely. I didn’t know that about tansy. The tansy that grows around here is actually illegal to let grow, it kills cattle I guess and is considered a noxious weed and you can get fined for letting it go wild on your property…I rather think its pretty! Kim
Thank to to everyone for the nice comments on my yarn.
Kim’s comment above made me realize I should have made a note about how Common Tansy is frequently mistaken for a harmful (and rather dangerous) weed called Tansy Ragwort. To help clear up some confusion on these two plants I edited the end of this post and supplied some useful links.
Thanks again for the always nice and welcomed comments!