Late last summer, I got the urge to try and dry some for myself. There's a trick to it as you have to cut them at just the right time. Cut them when they are too young, and they won't dry well. Cut them too late in the season, and they will have begun to turn green. As you can see, some of these flowers were cut too late, and do have a green tinge. But, all in all, I'm quite pleased with this first effort.
She told me that the blue hydrangeas dry better, and retain more color, so I think that next year I'll get some of that stuff that you can add to the soil that will give you bluer flowers. And, I think I'll do some research and see if I can find out what wildflowers dry well. If I remember correctly, yarrow is one of them, so I'll see if I can get permission to gather a few from the Great Meadow. Then, maybe next year, I can try my hand at creating my own Williamsburg arrangement.
In the meantime, these few flowers remind me that spring and summer will come again, in the endless cycle of life.
17 comments:
Wow. Would never have guessed those were real, dried flowers! Very cool!
They do look lovely, Louise! Nothing like flowers to make it feel warmer!
They are beautiful! I have went out even this time of year and picked them and spray painted them, mostly silver and gold but any color would work. I am going to try the blue also, I do not have any blue and would have to add the acid to my soil.
Oooh! Those look yummy! What do they taste like? hee hee hee
Very lovely! Yes, yarrow dries well.
HI Louise! I dried my hydrangeas last year and was happy with how some turned out, and others not so--But I wanted to preserve them and remember too...
It's also cold here in Virginia too--Birds are eating like crazy, and I'm waiting for 'stray cat' to show up--I worry about it being cold. But it's eaten the last 2 days here--THANKS for your help on putting food out, we'll see where it goes.
it's hard to imagine that spring really is right around the corner. for you, bone-chilling cold and snow, for us, incessant rain, accompanied by bone-chilling cold. but i was out and about today, enjoying a rare bout of sunshine, and sprouts are sprouting, buds are budding, and it's all just as it should be.
I used to dry flowers withmy Mom.
We used a 50/50 mix of corn meal and borax powder. Place in a container and carfully place your flowers
add more powder, making sure to sprinkle some between pettles and to fill and build up so the pettles retain their conformation.
seal and wait 1 month
goo for dried flowers you will use in making flower wreaths etc. You can try lonk stem posey of wildflowers
pansy do well in this technique as do roses.
I had family that did this, never knew it had a name, it was just "Grandma's dried flowers". (Usually followed by "don't touch, they will fall apart.")
Still, it does bring a bit of season warmer in the house...
Cat
Very nice! I'm surprised your cute kitties haven't "helped" with the arrangement.
Hah, Terry! I have them on the what-not, which is the one place in the house which the cats can't get to.
Spring is around teh corner. I saw Spring bulb tips already coming up when I was at the park today ( washington state).
although I like hydrangeas, with goats, I can't have hydrangea bushes :-)
Hi Louise I absolutely love hydrangeas but alas it is much too hot where I live,I could never manage to get any growing here! Lovely dried flowers.
That is gorgeous! Before I started read, I definitely thought they were 'real'.
Those hydrangeas looks like big white snowballs. Very pretty, but this time of year I think I'd love to see bright pink, purple or orange....a huge splash of color! :)
~Lisa
Very pretty. I'll have to remember that next summer. Thanks for the tip!
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