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Driving down the road recently, I noticed a red farm building. It was one of those metal-sided buildings that have become commonplace on farms these days. The fact that it was red caused me to wonder: Why? I harkened back to a child’s toy farm set that included a big red barn, along with a pig, a cow, some chickens, and even a white picket fence. The big red barn with its gambrel roof is lodged in the American psyche as an iconic symbol of the farm, but — why red? Little did I know that my seemingly innocent question would lead me beyond the red barn and back through the ages to white linen and blue flowers.
The older barns are usually constructed of wood, and, understandably, farmers paint their barns to preserve the wood. This is a practice that dates back a very long time, at least to Europeans prior to American settlement. At one time, skimmed milk, red iron oxide (rust), lime and linseed oil were mixed together as a homemade paint. The rust was known to prevent the growth of mold and mildew that rotted the wood. Reportedly, some people even added the blood of animals, possibly for its iron content. In some cases, only linseed oil and rust were mixed together and used as a wood preservative.
I got to wondering about the linseed oil. It is used as a drying agent in paint, and helped the milk mixture to soak into the wood, thus preventing the paint from peeling off in sheets. It turns out that linseed oil comes from the plant known as flax, of the genus Linum.
As its genus name suggests, fibers from the flax plant are used to make linen. This is the cloth used to wrap Egyptian mummies, but was also used extensively for clothing at least 7,000 years ago. Linen was an important commodity for trading with Arabs and Persians.
Modern folks may recognize flaxseed as one of the richest sources of fiber (more than oatmeal!), as well as the healthy omega-3 fatty acids that help reduce “bad” cholesterol, and antioxidants known as lignans. But flax has so many other uses; it could well be dubbed the “all-in-one plant”.
Some examples of the uses of flax include: dye, rope, paper, medicine, fishing nets, hair gels, soap, cattle feed, and linoleum. I myself have benefitted from a number of these uses, but there will always be a special place in my garden for the small blue flax flower. Although the species I grow as a perennial in my garden, Linum perenne, is different from the one used to make linen and other goods, they share their special true-blue flower color. The flowers are borne at the tips of thin, airy branches about 10 inches off the ground. They open every morning and close by mid-afternoon. The fine-textured stems of bluish-green and the smallish flowers give the plant a soft, delicate appearance. If you use it, place it at the front of the bed, and place it where you will pass it each morning, to fully appreciate its charm.
Little did I know when I first wondered about the redness of barns, that it would lead me so far and wide, from ancient Egypt to the flowers in my own garden. That’s an impressive resume for such an unassuming little plant.
