The Guardian ·
Country diary: Facing the flax – this city was once built on the stuff
Botanic Meadow, Belfast: I visit my local community garden, and the woman who has returned to growing this graceful crop that eventually becomes linen
In my hands is a brownish-grey hank of flax yarn. I twine it between my fingers to feel the thread’s strength and admire the fibres’ diffuse sheen. Along with fruit and vegetables, it’s the produce of our Friends of the Field community garden. It’s also the work of Merle, whose love of textile crafts has led her creative process right back to growing flax.
Flax yarn is used to make linen, a fabric that is folded into Belfast’s history. During the 19th century, the city was a global powerhouse of linen production, but the advent of synthetic textiles contributed to the industry’s decline. So, despite its former importance to the Northern Irish economy, I’d never actually seen flax until I saw Merle’s crop.
At summer’s height, her small plot swayed with flax’s graceful lime-green stems and delicate blue flowers. Over the season, the stems yellowed. Petals dropped, leaving little bonnets of seed pods. In late August, we pulled the crop. The plant’s shallow roots made our task relatively easy, but for previous generations of farm workers, pulling large fields of flax was back-breaking work. When we were done, we left the beets (bundles) of flax to dry in a polytunnel.
