There are some big trees in my neighbourhood. Some are Eucalyptus Citriodora (lemon scented gum), which is a spectacular tree but gives no colour to speak of. On the other hand, in summer it drops so many leaves I can collect sackfuls for mulch and chook bedding and they smell awesome.
One of the other major street tress around here is E Sideroxylon (Mugga, red ironbark). My neighbour has one in the backyard. Right next to it is a Grevillea Robusta (Silky Oak), also native to Australia. Mugga leaves give orange and the silky oak gives a sensational yellow, also from the leaves. Here is the Mugga–with some detail of the leaves:
Here is the tree–hard to give a sense of scale. There are some huge specimens planted as street trees in my suburb, but presumably in a forest they would be still bigger!
And here are both trees, side by side.
On a much smaller scale, there are Eucalypts I have read about in the work of other dyers which I haven’t found growing in my wanderings around my city (well, not that I was able to recognise as yet) So I also have some in pots.
E Nicholii on the left and E Melliodora on the right. I have done a few leaf prints with these two but there is no immediate danger I’ll be dyeing a skein of wool with them! Eventually I might need to find a spot in the neighbourhood that needs a tree and plant them where they can grow taller…
Local & Bespoke 