Create beautiful complex or simple pieces of dried flower art with your bouquet.
Preparation of your flowers for drying
If you intend to dry your flowers take them out of the vase before they show signs of aging or significant drooping of the flower head. I like to enjoy my bouquets for as long as possible and then just before they start to deteriorate I will move them into the drying phase.
Flowers that love to dry out and still look beautiful.
The list is extensive and I have had personal success with almost all of them:
- statice
- roses
- strawflowers /everlasting daisies
- paper daisies
- hydrangea
- poppy pods
- celosia
- lavender
- pansies, violets and violas
- zinnias
- scabiosa
- ornamental grasses like pampas grasses
- baby’s breath
- yarrow
- love in a mist (nigella)
- delphiniums and larkspur
- cosmos
- eucalyptus
- stocks (harder due to the potential for mould but I have had good success)
- gomphrena
- marigolds
- lunaria
- petunias
Flowers that don't enjoy being dried are those with a high water content. This would include dahlias, succulents, tulips and daffodils.
6 easy ways to dry flowers
1. Air drying in a vase or on the stemAir drying in a vase or on the stem
Fill a vase with 2 inches of water and depending on the size of the vase, place 2 to 3 flowers in the vase with the stems in the water. Make sure not to overcrowd them then place them in a dark place away from sunlight. Leave them to dry out and this will take 2 to 3 weeks. This method is perfect for hydrangeas. cut the hydrangea when they are full in size and the petals have turned slightly papery. Remove all of the greenery then follow as above.