I got up early with my buckets and scissors and headed out to the garden yesterday morning. I carefully selected and trimmed each flower and tucked them into my buckets.
The best of the best went to Belle Fiori for their addition to the table and church arrangements. Zinnias were definitely my go to flower for this was my most heavily planted as well as the most seasonally select in my garden. The hydrangea bush still had a few blooms on it with a nice pink blush so those went in as well. I had some statice and Mexican torch flowers that added to the bright colors my daughter desires for her fall wedding. To round out the selection, I tucked in some previously cut and dried hare's tail grass. Michelle did not like this from the seed catalog description, but I ordered it any way. When she saw them hanging in the basement, she had to agree that they were going to be sweet additions. The women in the flower shop were most intrigued by the grass of all the things I brought.
I get to see how things all came together tomorrow morning when we pick them all up. I can hardly wait!
Some of the flowers I put in are ideal for drying. I have straw flowers, Statice, Celosia, and hare's tail grass in the annual bed. I also have a Hydrangea which is in beautiful bloom this year.
My preference for drying is to bind bouquets of the same flowers and colors with rubber bands near the bottom. I hang them from my clothes line in the basement upside down. The rubber band is the best fastener as it contracts with the shrinking stems as they dry. String and wire remain the same size and flowers can start dropping out when the loop loosens up as the stems dry. I use spring-type clothes pins to fasten the rubber band to the line.
I have also dried flowers in a container filled with borax. This is good for flowers that are not ideal for drying. Some flowers will droop and sag. In borax, they stay flat (like daisies) or round (like roses) as the powder holds them in the original shape they you picked them in minus the water. You do have to carefully take them out as they are brittle at this point.
One other method for drying flowers is a flower press. Two boards of the same size, cardboard cut to fit, and paper towel to absorb the moisture. Bind the boards together with strapping or belts that can be tightened down with a friction type latch that will hold them tightly together. A heavy weight on top will also do the same thing just not as portable. A more elaborate set up would be long bolts on each corner with washers and wing nuts to tighten it all down. You can pull the petals from flowers with a large center to use in cards and pictures. A bit of clear drying glue or laminate will keep them beautiful for a long time.
Seed catalogs often have a separate category for dried flowers. If you are a crafty person who likes to garden, this can combine two hobbies into one. Check out different kinds of plants to see what works and rule out those that aren't your style. The hare's tail grass was something I had never seen before. It has been a pretty little addition to the garden and has dried very well. My hope is to incorporate some of these dried flowers into a floral arrangement at my daughter's wedding.
