My potager garden is a small garden on the island of Resarö, Resarö is situated in the inner part of the archipelago outside of Stockholm. Tyra´s Garden is mostly an ornamental vegetable garden, potager. But flowers are of course an important ingredience, for beauty and pollination.
Tyra's Garden is a small garden on the island of Resarö situated in the inner part of the archipelago near the small town Vaxholm, outside Stockholm. Tyra's Garden is mostly an ornamental vegetable garden, my potager. But flowers are of course an important ingredience, for beauty and pollination. The climate in these parts is quite demanding as the northerly winds can be strong and cold. THIS BLOG 'Tyra's Garden' is not entirely a gardenblog it contains much more. About me: Enthusiastic amateur gardener and photographer from Vaxholm, Sweden. Designed and built my Greenhouse and Potager in Tyra's Garden 2003. Love the outdoor life, gardening and sailing especially. View my profile

Sunday

RED


Falu red or in Swedish we call it Faluröd is the name of the beautiful Swedish, deep red paint well known for its use on wooden cottages and barns. The paint originated from Falun in Dalarna ( copper mine) , Sweden. The traditional colour remains popular today due to it's effectiveness in preserving wood it is absolutely fantastic. Easy to paint and it doesn't smell.


The earliest evidence of its use dates from the 16th century. During the 17th century Falu red was commonly used on smaller wooden mansions, where it was intended to imitate buildings with brick facing. Except in bigger cities like Stockholm and Gothenburg, and in the extreme south of Sweden, wood was the dominating building material. In the Swedish cities and towns, buildings were often painted with the Falu red until the early 19th century, when the authorities began to oppose the paint. At this point in time more and more wooden buildings in urban areas were either painted in lighter colours (e.g. yellow, white) or sided with stucco. The number of buildings made of bricks (with stucco) also increased. However the Falu red saw a surge in popularity in the countryside during the 19th century, when also poorer farmers and crofters began to paint their houses. Falu red is still widely used in the Swedish countryside.
The actual colour may be different depending on how much the oxide is burnt, ranging from almost black to a bright, light red. Different tones of red have been popular at different times. Recently a mix giving a dark green colour, Falu Grön, has also been produced by mixing black and ochre.

The last fading beauty - Rose against the red wall on my cottage in Åkerby Village in the north of Uppland.


The paint consists of water, rye flour, linseed oil and residue from the copper mines of Falun which contain silicates iron oxides, copper compounds and zinc. The current recipe was finalized in the 1920s.


Pictures from the small village called Åkerby, this is where I am now when I'm writing this post. Åkerby bruk founded 1638



TYRA

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14 comments:

Les said...

I don't know if the recipe is the same, but this red is also the tradtional color for barns in the states.

Anonymous said...

That is so interesting. It makes sense because the copper would be a preservative and yes, Les is correct, the same "barn red" is popular in the U.S.~~dee

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Yes I've seen it in your northern states like Oregon and Wyoming ...isn't that correct? I guess the early settlers brought it with them. It's dead easy to make your own colour.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating, Tyra! While it's true we have "barn red" in America I have my doubts it's the same mixture. It sounds very handy to know about and is certainly a wonderful color that blends with the landscape in an organic way. Thanks for telling us about it!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

I love those traditional colours and especially the Falu red. That colour you see a lot in Denmark too, together with the yellow. Over here we call this red oxblood red.

Have a lovely time in Aakerby!

Kram, Yolanda

Arija said...

It seems like that traditional red was taken to North America by migrating Swedes.
I love your greenhouse, potager and blog, so glad I fould your blog through this great flower round.

dot said...

Perfect barn red! I love the color and enjoyed reading about it and your pictures.

Anonymous said...

Very nice photos.

Paz

joey said...

Delightful imformative post, Tyra. Falu red, though similar to many barns and outhouses dotting our countryside, seems to quaintly weather (oxidize) while ours fade and peel. As always, a joy to visit ;)

DeniseinVA said...

A very interesting post, thank you for sharing. Great photography.

Anonymous said...

That is my favorite shade of red Tyra. It really looks great in the landscape. Thanks for sharing an interesting post on the history of this color.

Terra said...

Tyra, this is a lovely blog that expresses what you care about.
Great wall paintings, and you are right, falu red is ideal for barns.
Thanks for visiting my blog, I came right over to see yours, its sort of like chatting over coffee.
Did you know I wrote a brand new book about celebrating Christmas?
Terr

Hannele på Hisingen said...

Faluröd är fin färg, men det ska vara den gamla ljusare. Jag är van vid omålade gråa lador...

Kylee Baumle said...

What an interesting post, Tyra. Red is my favorite color anyway, so of course I love these buildings. Beautiful fall scenes as well!