Wildflowers
NATURAL DYES
Natural dyes are in SUFi’s dna. All the way from the first few dye plants in Sophie’s garden, we have been researching, experimenting and enjoying all the wonderful possibilities that natural dyes offer. Natural dyes come from many unexpected sources: from the discarded avocado pits and peels of our local burrito shop to the papery onion peels that the local vegetable farmer keeps aside for us.
WILDFLOWER GARDEN
In 2024, we were able to take this journey to a lovely next level. The municipality of Maastricht allocated a spot next to the studio for our wildflower garden. The plan was to make a wildflower garden with mixed ecosystem functions: not only to promote biodiversity and be good for the soil, but also to provide dye flowers.
PLANT MAGIC
Of course, we should have expected that the flowers would put their own magical touch upon this plan. Even before the flowers started blooming, hardly a day passed without a neighbour telling us how much they enjoyed the initiative. Often, we saw people just standing in front of the garden soaking in its delights. Once, there was a young girl sitting underneath a tree nearby to paint the flowers.
REGENERATION
We used the flowers to hold eco-printing workshops for the neighbours. We used no-dig methods to give soil life the chance to flourish. We planted a mix of annuals and perennials, mostly of native species. We chose many species that are attractive to bees and butterflies. We built a fence out of locally sourced, organic willow, also in a workshop
As you can probably tell, we are very proud of this project. We can’t wait to continue this journey into the years to come.
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Many thanks to Burgerbegroting Maastricht for believing in the project and making it possible financially. 
