Four Ways to Preserve (Dry) Flowers

Preserve a bit of your summer garden by drying a few flowers.

Most gardeners have gathered a few stems from their favorite flowers, removed the lower leaves and secured them into small bundles. Next step - hang them in a warm dry place. Bright yellow, orange, pink and blue flowers tend to preserve their colors best.

Clipping off the blooms and drying with silica gel is the best way to preserve flowers to look as good as they did in the garden. It also works well for delicate blooms. You’ll find this drying compound at craft stores.

Speed things up by drying your flowers in a microwave. Place 4 cups of cat litter in a microwave safe bowl. Carefully cover a single flower and microwave for 2 to 3 minutes. Gently brush off the litter and repeat until the whole bouquet has been dried.

Or allow your bouquet to dry naturally in the vase. This method works great with goldenrod, protea and even some roses.

A bit more information: Or press a few flowers between two layers of parchment paper or wax paper and place between the pages of a heavy book. Keep in mind, once pressed this is how your flowers will remain. More details on each method are available from Reader’s Digest at How to Dry Flowers.

Tags

indoor-holiday-plants cut-flowers goldenrod

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