Studying how you can dry flowers will open up a world of potentialities! Right here’s all the things it’s essential find out about drying flowers and 14 alternative ways to make use of dried flower petals.

Dried flower petals are the easiest way to protect the great thing about the backyard properly into the chilly winter months when our crops hibernate. I at all times have dried flower petals available to make use of for my magnificence recipes, soaps, and different crafts.

To make sure I’ve sufficient, I top off on flowers every summer time. I wish to have a complete rainbow at my disposal for the approaching months.

As totally different flowers bloom every week, I’m out in my backyard with a basket. I gather and snip the flowers till I’ve greater than sufficient blooms. Since I wish to experiment and provides away handmade presents, I can by no means have too many!

Right here’s what it’s essential find out about dying flowers, from how you can dry them to what to do with them.

Dried flower petals in jars separated by color — Generally, it’s greatest to simply dry the petals of a flower relatively than the entire head.

What Flowers Can You Dry?

Whereas I want each flower dried as pretty because it appears on the stem, not all flowers dry completely. When trying to dry flowers, you need ones that maintain their color and perfume. Loads of it comes right down to testing totally different flowers and seeing how they dry.

For example, saliva flowers dry properly and actually maintain their color. Nevertheless, the flowers shrink a lot and change into so tiny that it isn’t definitely worth the bother until you will have a whole bunch. A few of my favorite flowers to dry are:

Lavender drying upside down on a rack outside — Lavender bunches scent completely divine whereas they dry.

Easy methods to Dry Flower Petals

In relation to drying flower petals, there are just a few strategies that can be utilized. Nevertheless, some will work higher than others for various sorts of flowers. As soon as once more, it’s all about experimenting!

Jars of colorful dried flower petals — Retailer your dried flowers in hermetic jars so that they don’t rehydrate.

Grasp Upside Down

You’ve most likely seen fairly just a few images of this primary technique due to its Instagram-worthy aesthetic. This standard technique is to bundle the stems collectively and grasp the wrong way up. To dry flowers this fashion, you’ll want to grasp them in a darkish and funky room corresponding to a closet that isn’t typically used.

In the event you aren’t going to be utilizing the leaves, strip the stems naked earlier than making bunches. I like to make use of string, twine, or wire to wrap my stems collectively and connect them to a hanger (see it on this picture?).

Flowers which might be good for this technique embrace lavender, roses, centuarea, echinacea, hops, and extra. Some bigger flowers corresponding to roses could also be higher to be hung individually relatively than in a bunch.

One among my favorite tips is to cowl lavender bunches with a bag. This lets you catch lavender buds as they fall, making gathering that a lot simpler!

Dry Flowers in Water

I primarily use this technique for hydrangea flowers because it helps to retain the brilliant pink and blue tones. Take away all of the leaves and place the flowers in a vase with an inch or two of water.

Place the flowers in a darkish and funky room and easily look forward to the water to slowly evaporate. This permits the flowers to dry slowly, serving to to protect the petals’ color.

Hydrenga drying in a jar of water — With out this system, the hydrangea flowers get floppy and don’t retain their form.

Air Dry Flower Heads

Air drying flowers are nice for flower heads that may simply pop off their stems, corresponding to calendula and chamomile. To do that technique, pop off the heads of the flowers and discard the stems. Then, unfold them out on a dish, tray, or drying rack and wait.

As soon as once more, you’ll want to place these flowers out of direct daylight whereas drying. For simple gathering and clear up, you’ll want to have a tray under that picks up any flowers that fall by way of a drying rack.

Drying flowers on a tray can even work for those who simply need particular person flower petals and never the entire head. This technique works nice for bigger flowers corresponding to roses, centaurea, sunflower, bee balm (monarda), and peonies.

Harvesting Peony Petals — Lay peony flowers on a tray to get the dried petals.

Use a Dehydrator

In case you are strapped for time, you may even use your at-home dehydrator you probably have one. The method is identical as drying flower heads and petals on a tray, however as an alternative, you’ll place them in your dehydrator for 8-10 hours.

Be sure you place like flowers within the dehydrator so all of them evenly dry or place bigger flowers on the highest rack as they’ll take the longest to fully dry. If all flowers are the identical measurement, be happy to rotate the trays so the flowers evenly dry.

Press Flowers

The final technique for drying flowers is an outdated favorite! Urgent flowers is a good technique for making customized playing cards, framed flowers, and different inventive art work. To make pressed flowers, you should use a flower press or a big guide (cellphone books are nice for those who nonetheless have these kicking round!).

Place your flowers the way you need them to dry between two items of newspaper or printer paper. This may forestall your flowers from sticking to the guide pages and stamping them with color. Squish them down, and if utilizing a guide, place some further books on high as a weight.

Wait at the least three weeks earlier than you open up and examine in your flowers. For completely pressed flowers, you may make a home made flower press by following these steps.

Drying flower petals in a DIY flower press — Use blotting paper together with your flower press to assist take in any moisture.

The place to Purchase Dried Flowers

Whether or not it’s resulting from house limitations or local weather points, a few of us don’t have the potential to develop our personal provide of flowers. That doesn’t imply you aren’t allowed to get pleasure from the great thing about dried flowers! There are tons of locations the place you should buy dried flowers. Right here’s a brief record:

In the event you’re questioning the place to get began relating to buying flowers on-line, think about what you need dried flowers for. This useful resource information on how you can create your personal natural residence apothecary is a good place to begin.

Woman making a bath bomb with dried flower petals — This tub bomb contains a pressed pansy.

What to do With Dried Flowers: 14 Dried Flower Initiatives

Now that you understand how to dry flowers and what to search for when selecting your crops for drying, let’s speak about what to do with them. As soon as you start experimenting, you’ll discover that the probabilities are countless with these vibrant creations. Listed here are a few of my favorite concepts to attempt.

Lovely Cleaning soap Toppers

Do-it-yourself soaps make a beautiful, custom-made reward. To make my soaps a real showstopper, dried flower petals oftentimes take heart stage as the ultimate contact. They’re one of many best methods to embellish, add color, and even improve the scent of cleaning soap. For my very own soaps, I used dried wildflowers. Comply with my steps and create your personal wildflower cleaning soap.

Stack of homemade soap with dried flower petals inside — These petals are for adornment solely; they’ll come off the cleaning soap not lengthy after you start to lather up with it.

Soften And Pour Soaps

Whereas dried flower petals sprinkled on high are pretty, you may also incorporate them immediately into your cleaning soap. Soften-and-pour soaps are the simplest technique for rookies, however that gained’t cease your soaps from trying completely wonderful. Take a look at how you can make your personal botanical soaps with flowers inside.

Clear soap bars with flowers, herbs, and leaves inside of them. — For these soaps, select flowers you realize will maintain their color properly by way of the cleaning soap.

Lotion Bars

Calendula has a stupendous golden hue to it and likewise works as an anti-inflammatory for the pores and skin. Experiment with the backyard and deal with your pores and skin by making lotion bars with calendula.

Bathtub Bombs

Bathtub bombs could make a shower go from easy and stress-free to fun-filled aromatherapy. Dried flowers are top-of-the-line pure methods to make a stupendous tub bomb. You may place a full flower on high and even sprinkle them on as a last ornament. Take a look at my full record of DIY tub bombs you may make your self.

Woman holding a heart-shaped bath bomb with dried rose petals inside.

Bathe Steamers

If baths aren’t your factor, bathe steamers are the bathtub bomb made for bathe lovers. In the event you haven’t tried it earlier than, a bathe steamer enhances your bathe by filling it slowly with fantastic aromatherapy scents. You could find an entire tutorial right here.

Shower steamers with dried flower petals on a white towel — Bathe steamers are identical to tub bombs, however for individuals who choose a bathe.

Wax Melts

Ditch the plug-ins and aerosols and add perfume to your property naturally with aromatherapy wax melts. These cute natural infused melts make a cute reward or are pretty to have available when your property wants some freshening up.

Electric Wax Melt Warmer and herbal melts — Including dried flowers to wax melts is safer than including them to candles.

Tub Tea

In the event you don’t look after the aesthetic of flower petals and herbs floating within the bathtub, tub teas are an incredible different. You get the aromatherapy of the flowers with out the cleanup. Right here’s how one can make them your self.

Bathtub Salts

Excellent for rookies, tub salts are an excellent fast and simple strategy to get inventive with dried flower petals. This tutorial makes use of peony, however the flower choices are countless!

Bath salts made with pink dried peony petals — Darkish pink peony flowers maintain their color very properly.

After an extended day, my sore and drained toes are at all times the very first thing on my thoughts. I like to present them somewhat bit of additional loving with a natural foot soak, full with dried flowers.

Herbal foot soak with dried flowers next to sandals — You may customise this challenge and plenty of others primarily based on the flowers you will have available.

Rose Water

Do you know that rose is wonderful for the pores and skin? Coupled with its wonderful scent, dried roses are undoubtedly one thing you wish to have available for skincare recipes. Right here’s how I take advantage of mine to make rose water.

Framed Flowers

Some pressed flowers are simply so pretty they have to be framed! Pressed flowers are extraordinarily delicate and framing them undoubtedly takes a cautious hand. Comply with the following tips and steps and also you’ll have fantastically framed flowers.

pressed and framed heirloom flowers — Thinner flowers dry greatest in a flower press, as giant flowers can rot.

Dried Flower Preparations

A flower association is likely one of the greatest methods to brighten up your residing house and convey nature indoors. Whereas contemporary flowers are lovely, they solely final for thus lengthy. Protect the great thing about your backyard inside your property and make it final by creating dried flower preparations. See all of the steps on how you can protect your decorative flower backyard.

dried flower arrangement — It’s also possible to mix your dried flowers with faux flowers.

Wreaths

Utilizing dried flowers to create a wreath makes a beautiful and long-lasting ornament good for spring and summer time. Comply with my steps on how you can make a lavender wreath or give my hydrangea wreath a attempt.

a beautiful DIY lavender wreath made with dried lavender — This lavender wreath might be made contemporary, and can dry splendidly to get pleasure from for years to come back.

Echinacea Tincture

Flowers might be a lot greater than magnificence. This echinacea tincture helps to spice up immunity and scale back signs throughout chilly and flu season. Make your personal and learn to use this unimaginable flower right here.

echinacea root tincture with dried echinacea petals — Tinctures are usually made by soaking the plant in an alcohol base.

FAQ About Drying Flowers

How lengthy will dried flowers final?

Most dried flowers are good for at the least 2-3 years if stored in the appropriate situations. Keep away from any daylight and warmth, in addition to humidity. As soon as positioned in daylight, the color from the blooms can fade fairly rapidly.

How do you retain dried flowers from rotting?

Rotting dried flowers have absorbed moisture. It’s important to maintain dried flowers away from moisture and humidity. For instance, you won’t wish to maintain a dried flower association within the toilet.

If storing your dried flowers in a container, think about together with some silica gel packs to assist take in humidity.

Ought to I spray my dried flowers with hairspray?

Hairspray can actually assist to extend the lifetime of dried flowers. In the event you’re utilizing dried flowers for show and arranging, spray a lightweight layer of hairspray to assist them retain color and maintain their form. Don’t use hairspray on dried flowers you propose on utilizing for crafts or magnificence recipes; it ought to solely be used on show dried flowers.

And there you will have it! The beautiful colors of dried flower petals are pretty handy for magnificence recipes, DIYs, and crafts, however in addition they stand out on their very own in glass jars. In the event you’re like me, when you begin drying flower petals, you gained’t be capable to cease!