Flowers are a wonderful addition to any decor, but they typically only last a few days in water. To preserve their beauty and admire it at any time of the year, they use the method of drying flowers.

Drying plants at home is quite easy. There are several different methods for this, depending on the type of flowers.

When is the best time to cut flowers for drying?

It is best to cut flowering plants before the flower fully opens. This will help maintain their color. Network of garden centers "NATALIS" http://natalis.ua/plants/listvennye-kustarniki/hydrangea.html recommends cutting flowers in the morning, before they begin to bloom, but after the dew has evaporated.

If you want to dry a bouquet given to you, it is best to start this as quickly as possible, since, most likely, the flowers were cut no later than the day before purchase. If they are roses, it may be tempting to leave them in the vase until they have fully opened. However, if you really want to keep the flowers as a souvenir and dry them, you don't need to wait until the full bloom stage.

What is the best way to dry flowers?

Hanging

The most common (and fairly reliable) method is to separate the flowers individually or into small bunches and hang the buds down. You can use a clothes hanger and an elastic band, and then put the flowers in the closet. If the flower stems are thin, it is better to use a thin thread.

This method will take several weeks and some petals may fall off in the process. But this is the best way to preserve the stems in case you plan to put the dried flowers in a vase.

Drying in a book

Place the flowers on newspaper, cloth or any paper that can absorb moisture and place another sheet on top. Then place everything in the book and close it.

This method also takes several weeks and is ideal for creating dried flowers for use in floristry or jewelry.

Microwave drying

If you can't wait long for the flowers to dry, this method will certainly come in handy. Place the flowers (no stems) in a container and microwave. BHG suggests coating the flowers with a mixture of silica sand or a mixture of borax and cornmeal (equal parts). Without covering the container, leave to dry for a minute. Dry for another minute if necessary. After this, leave the flowers in the mixture for one day so that they dry completely.

Where is the best place to store dried flowers?

Flowers need to be dried in a cool, dark place because sunlight may cause their color to fade.

To keep dried flowers as long as possible, keep them away from windows or any other source of direct sunlight, and away from stoves, fireplaces and heaters.

What flowers are best for drying?

The most popular flower is the rose, but there are many other plants and herbs that are also suitable for drying.

Dried flowers and herbs are an excellent decorative material for making flower arrangements. Dry plants have many advantages over fresh flowers.
Firstly, they are more durable, and secondly, they are accessible to everyone. Material for compositions from dry plants is always near us - in forests, parks, meadows and even on the alleys of a big city. Dried flowers do not require special vases with water. Anything can serve as “dishes”: wire and paper, dry branches, driftwood, bark, straw wicker, polystyrene foam. In specialized stores you can purchase special containers with “piaflor” - a sponge for attaching live, dry and artificial plants, or piaflor, which is cut to the shape of the container and tightly inserted into it. You can hold dry and artificial material using needle and hole holders, wire, plasticine, sand, moss, and glue. You can use heat guns.

It is necessary to collect material for a winter dry bouquet at different periods of plant growth. Some are interesting in the spring, others during flowering, and many in the fall, when the fruits ripen.

The materials used to compose dry compositions are very diverse: these include natural dried flowers, i.e. those plants that, when dried, retain their decorative properties, and ordinary garden and wildflowers, dried in a special way, and decorative onions, ferns, cereals, branches of bushes and trees, dried along with fruits, such as hawthorn, barberry, viburnum, sea buckthorn , snowberry, euonymus and many others. Among aquatic and meadow plants, reeds, sedges, cattails, and reeds can be used for bouquets.

Northern forests provide a lot of material for arrangement. Here they collect dry branches of trees, shrubs, roots, lichens, and heather. In pine and spruce forests you can find a lot of branches covered with light silver lichens - they look very impressive in compositions, but they cannot be immediately brought into a warm room. You must first dry them in a dark and cool place.

Twigs with fruits of alder, birch, maple, linden, and willow look great in bouquets. Excellent material for New Year's compositions are pine, spruce, cedar, larch, etc. cones.

Drying in silica gel

When composing compositions, you can use nuts, dried pieces of orange and lemon. It is very good to dry plants in alum, semolina, clean, dry and calcined sand. But it is best to use silica gel for this purpose - then drying occurs faster. Before use, it is crushed and dried in the oven. Then they take a cardboard box, pour a 2-3 cm thick layer of silica gel on the bottom, carefully place the plant on it, straighten it, and then very carefully cover the entire plant with silica gel, trying not to deform the petals and leaves. The drying time, depending on the type of plant, can be from 2 days to a month.
In this way, even roses, lilies, orchids, and double dahlias can be dried well.

Microwave drying

The microwave oven expands the possibilities for drying silver or gray flowers and herbs. This drying method has no equal in terms of color preservation and efficiency - after all, the whole process takes just a few minutes! The open drying method is the easiest: arrange the flowers in layers on several layers of filter paper and turn on the oven at half power for 2 - 3 minutes, then take out the flowers and hang them by the stems for a couple of days if you do not need them for the arrangement right away. This is a good method for plants with many small flowers (gypsophila, mantle, goldenrod, lavender).

Preserving plants using glycerin:

Some plants can be “preserved” by treating them with glycerin. The solution is prepared from 1-2 parts of glycerin and 4 parts of boiling water; for better absorption of the solution by the plants, cuts are made at the ends of the stem. The solution is poured into the bowl so that the stems can be immersed 3-4 cm into it. This operation usually takes 2-3 weeks. As the plants absorb the solution, it is filled with new portions. As a result of this treatment, the stems and especially the leaves become elastic, but slightly change their color. It is by the change in color that we can conclude that the plant has absorbed glycerin. Then the ends of the stems must be washed with water and dried. It is good to treat plants such as reeds, reeds, astilbe, branches of magnolia, rose hips, small-leaved maple, yarrow, meadow grasses and others with glycerin.

1.Cut and prepare the material. Evergreens can be cut for preservation at any time of the year, deciduous plants - in mid-summer or autumn.
2. Thoroughly mix one part glycerin with two parts boiling water, immerse the plant in the solution to a depth of 7.5 cm. Keep the vessel in a cool, shaded place.
3. Inspect the plants every week - sometimes wipe the upper leaves on long branches with a cloth soaked in an aqueous solution of glycerin.
4.Take out the plants when all the leaves change color. The process takes from 1 to 8 weeks depending on the type of plant; if necessary, a solution is added to the vessel.
5.Blot the finished plants with a paper towel. Before use, you need to hang the plants for several days with their heads down so that they fix their shape. Plants that look beautiful after preservation: rose, camellia, beech, rosemary, hydrangea, ferns, rowan, pear, boxwood, oak, willow, magnolia, eucalyptus, rhododendron.

In some plants that are not actually dried flowers, flowers and inflorescences retain their decorative properties when dried quickly. At the beginning of blooming, such flowers are cut and tied into small loose bunches so that the flowers and leaves do not come into contact with each other. They are then hung upside down in a dry room. This way you can dry ageratum, aruncus, achillea, hydrangea, gypsophila paniculata, freesia, cornflower, celosia, burnet, liatris, solidago, etc.

Plant coloring

If desired, dried flowers can be given different colors. For this it is best to use organic dyes:

Alcohol-soluble eosin can give dried flowers shades from crimson to red. In a warm solution of eosin, lichens, feather grass, and gypsophila are well stained.
Natural green with all the variety of shades is obtained by dyeing dry plants in a decoction of fresh potato tops with the addition of a small amount of iron sulfate (5-10 g per 10 liters of decoction). The blue color is obtained by soaking cornflower flowers in a decoction with the addition of vinegar (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of decoction). The brightness of natural blue tones can be preserved. To do this, before drying, the plant must be sprayed with a 6-9% solution of acetic acid.
The brightness of the color of natural yellow flowers can be preserved if the flowers are treated with a decoction of maple leaves or calendula flowers before drying (boil 0.5 kg of raw material in 1 liter of water).
The pink color can be preserved if plants with pink flowers are soaked in aqueous linden extract. The extract is prepared as follows: freshly picked linden flowers are soaked for 2-3 days in soft (rain) water at the rate of 100 g of flowers per 1 liter of water.

You can paint dried flowers with special colored sprays or paints for natural materials, which are sold in florist departments. In addition to special dyes, dried flowers and cereals can be tinted using aniline dyes for cotton fabrics. Dry plants, slightly moistened with water from a spray bottle, are lowered with their heads down into a hot (90 degrees) dye solution (see instructions for preparing the solution on the dye package) and kept in it until it cools. If the paint is very bright, you can hold it for a short time and then immerse the plant in clean water to reduce the brightness of the color. After painting, the plants are hung dried and then used to make compositions.

Autumn leaves, as well as acacia and violet flowers, are best dried with a hot iron through 4-5 sheets of blotting paper.

Dried plants can be tinted. For this, watercolor paints and special designer sprays are used. However, you should not get too carried away with this, so that the plants do not lose their natural appearance.

Crystallization of plants

For New Year's compositions, branches and herbs that have undergone crystallization are often used. To do this, prepare a saturated solution of table salt (2:1). Plants are dipped into it for 1-2 days. After crystal growth, the plants are removed from the solution and dried. The formation of crystals can be achieved faster. To do this, you need to lower the material into a boiling solution and immediately take it out into the cold.


If you add copper bisulfate or iron bisulfate to a solution of table salt, the color of the crystals will be blue-green.

To obtain an orange color of the crystals, potassium dichromate is added to the solution of table salt. It is good to treat branches of larch, spruce, pine, hogweed inflorescences and the like with a solution of table salt.

Dried plants are stored in dry, cool, well-ventilated areas, away from direct sunlight.

Dried flower plants: Ammobium, Achillea meadowsweet, heather, helipterum, helichrysum, gypsophila paniculata, gomphrena, xeranthemum, lunaria, Echinops, panicum, wormwood, cattail, eryngium, statice, physalis, cellosia, edelweiss and others.

Plants whose fruits or seeds are used for dry bouquets: Hogweed, barnyard grass, Iberis, flax, lunaria, nigella, wormwood, eryngium, stachys, physalis, echinacea.

Ornamental grasses

Wheat, rye, oats, barley are field cereals.
Reeds and cattails grow wild.

Cereals: Briza, haretail, bromus, lamarcia, miscanthus, fescue, pampas grass, pennisetum, polypogon, panicum, setaria, falaris, maned barley.

Dried flowers need care. The most important thing is not to expose them to sunlight so as not to fade. You can also blow off dust from them and occasionally spray them with hairspray.

Exotic shaped branches

Dynamic and spectacular compositions can be created using branches of unusual shapes, which can be made using basic improvised means and your own imagination

Cut long thin branches of trees or shrubs - they should bend easily and not break. Willow and redwood are well suited.

Peel them carefully from the bark. Wrap them around any shape you like - an elongated bottle, the leg of a chair or table, etc. and secure the entwined branch with a cloth, swaddling it tightly. Adjust the number of turns at your own discretion - the same bottle shape in this case can give you different branch options.

When the entwined branches are dry, unwind the fabric, remove the branch and use it in the composition.

Conservation:

Using glycerin. For this method of preserving flowers, you will need glycerin, which must be diluted with boiling water (1:2). Place pre-prepared plants in this solution and place the dishes in a cool, dark place. Now wait until all the leaves change color. This process can last from one to several weeks. So be patient and, if necessary, add glycerin solution to the vessel. Plants that have reached the required condition should be removed, allowed to dry on a paper towel, and then hung upside down for several days to dry. With the glycerin method of preservation, the plant does not dry out at all. Glycerin simply replaces water in the tissues, maintaining the elasticity of the leaves. This method is good if you want to preserve thick branches of plants such as rose hips or rowan and expect that the berries will be preserved on them.

Using wax. Another quick method of preservation is as follows. You need to heat the wax, dip the plants in it for a minute and then cool them in cold water.
Skeleton leaves

In a bowl of water, dilute bleach (such as Whiteness) and soak the sheet in it until it turns white.
Then rinse the leaf and carefully remove the pulp with a brush or scrape with the back of a knife until only the veins remain.
Rinse the sheet and blot with a napkin. Leave to dry.
For skeletonization, choose large, healthy leaves. Leaves of oak, laurel, maple, ivy, poplar, and magnolia are suitable.

Candied flowers.

You can use: roses, rose hips, violets, pansies, nasturtium.

Wash the flowers carefully (without damaging them), dry them well, and straighten the petals.

Beat the whites simply by beating them very lightly with a fork. Brush the petals with this protein. Place the flowers on a dry board sprinkled with powdered sugar. Sprinkle the flowers with powdered sugar through a strainer, then wait until the whites are almost completely dry and sprinkle again. For roses the procedure is more protracted. They candy one half of the flower, wait until it dries, then proceed to the second half.

It is best to candy the flowers of elderberry, white acacia, pear, apple, and cherry. They taste great. Candied citrus flowers, violets, and roses look very beautiful. Aromatic herbs are also candied: angelica stems, lemon balm leaves, rosehip flowers.

For decorating the cake Flowers such as violet, primrose, narcissus, freesia, fuchsia will suit you. Cut or purchase flowers for candying immediately before processing. Choose buds that are barely opening.

You will need the lightly beaten white of one egg and fine granulated sugar.

Blot any moisture from the flowers with a paper towel and leave a small section of stem if possible. Using a thin watercolor brush, apply the beaten egg white to the stem.

Using a spoon, sprinkle granulated sugar evenly on both sides of the flowers and carefully shake off the excess.

Leave the flowers to dry in a warm place on a wire rack covered with paper towels. Some flowers should be dried on paper, spread out, with the stem facing up. Coat the leaves with granulated sugar in the same way. It is better if they have beautiful outlines.

Store dried flowers in a box between layers of paper towel. Be careful not to damage them. Use for decorating any cakes.

Introduction.

Dried flowers.

Ammobium

Heliptherium, acroclinium

Xeranthemum, dried flower

Lonas

) - the inflorescences are cut off when they fully bloom, before the first opened flowers begin to fade. Before drying, 10-15 plants are tied into a bundle.

Gomphrena– inflorescences are cut off when fully bloomed.

Celosia- cut off the inflorescences in full bloom, when the flowers that bloomed first have not yet faded.

Garden and field plants.

Gypsophila- perennial and annual plant. Perennial gypsophila has small, numerous flowers of white or single color. After the bulk of the flowers bloom, the inflorescences are cut off and placed in a vase without water.

Molucella- an annual herbaceous plant with cup-shaped flowers like small shells. It grows on square, thin stems 30cm long, which are cut 18-20 weeks after sowing. The stems retain their light green color well when dried in hot air. Molucella is well dried in a glycerin solution and bleached.

Ferns- a perennial herbaceous plant that is an excellent material for winter bouquets. It is cut in any summer month and dried, slightly ironing the leaves with a warm iron, or under a press. Dry leaves are stored in newspapers.

Fruit.

Often, original fruits of some garden plants are used in New Year's compositions. They are recommended to be collected after full ripening and in dry weather. The fruits of plants such as hogweed, ornamental onions, garlic, dipsacus (moonweed), muscari, dictamnus (ash), asparagus, nigella, sedum, and physalis are often used. Boxes of tulips, leafy fruits of peonies and columbine plants look colorful in bouquets.

Hogweed- a perennial herbaceous plant, the inflorescences of which and parts of the hollow stems serve as original material for making dry bouquets. To do this, the plant is cut off late in the fall.

Decorative onions and garlic. The inflorescences of onions, chives, leeks and garlic are used in bouquets.

The garlic stalk is cut when its top is in a curled position. Such curls are secured with thin wire and left to dry. When collecting onions with seed pods, they are cut off when the peduncles begin to turn slightly yellow and dry out. The inconvenience of using onions is their long-lasting specific smell.

Lunaria (lunar) is a biennial herbaceous plant known for its thin mother-of-pearl partition plates. After the plant blooms, fruits develop on it in the form of flat oval pods. The stems should be cut in early September and stored in a cool room. Then the valves of the dried pods are removed and the seeds are poured out, as a result, partitions remain on the stem, shimmering with mother-of-pearl and giving the plant a decorative appearance. They do not require special drying.

Asparagus- a perennial herbaceous plant. For a winter bouquet, branches are used that need to be cut before frost, when they are covered with bright red berries. Otherwise, at the end of autumn they will turn black and lose their decorative effect.

Physalis is a herbaceous perennial plant known for its bright lanterns that do not lose their shape and color for months. It has original goblet-shaped fruits formed by thin red, bright orange skin. The stems are cut off when all the fruits turn bright orange. Dry the plants in a dark place, tied in small bunches, hanging vertically by the upper part of the stem, with the ends pointing down. Before drying, you need to tear off the leaves. Also dried in vases without water.

Herbs.

Annual and perennial herbs look beautiful in bouquets, differing in the structure of the stem, the shape of the structure of the spike-shaped inflorescences, the shape and color of the leaves, and the time of flowering.

The most common annual grasses are haretail (lagurus), shaker grass (briza), and pennisetum.

Haretail– has an inflorescence in the form of a white fluffy spike-shaped panicle. The spikelets are collected in bundles and hung indoors. If they hang in a sunny place, they will turn from light green to snow-white. Spikelets can also be dried in vases without water.

Trusyanka– forms a bush of delicate thin linear leaves. The spikelets of the plants are large. They are oblong-heart-shaped and collected in a sparse drooping panicle. Dry them hanging or in a vase without water.

Pennisutum– has ears 5-10cm, strongly drooping. Dried in the same way as previous herbs.

The number of perennial herbs used in dry bouquets is more extensive, these include: feather grass, miscanthus, arrhenatherum bulbosum, falaris, decorative barley, sandy grass (elimus). In the southern regions, artichoke (inflorescences) and pampas grass are common.

Feather grass– I remove its inflorescences immediately after flowering so that they do not have time to fall off the bush. Some of them can be stored in paper, while others are placed in a vase without water so that the stems take on any shape. Feather grass leaves are stored tied in bunches.

Forest, meadow and aquatic plants.

Many aquatic and meadow plants that can be collected throughout the year look beautiful in winter arrangements, among them: reeds, sedges, cattails, rush grass, cotton grass, common reeds, plantain chastuha (alisma).

Cotton grass– cut during flowering, in June. Later, the ears of the plant will become overripe and begin to fall off.

Rogoz- cut twice. The first time is at the beginning of summer, when the stems of the plant are still thin and graceful, and the inflorescences have not acquired a brown color. When cut this way, the stems will turn brown after drying. The second time the cattail is cut is in mid-summer. When cutting a plant in the fall in a warm room, it will quickly fluff up.

Chastukha plantain blooms with small white-pink flowers that are not preserved when cut. Therefore, the plant is harvested when it has bloomed.

Plant conservation.

Preservation of stems, leaves, flowers and fruits intended for arrangement includes several methods: drying in air, in a mixture of borax and sand, in sand, in semolina, in cotton wool, drying with a press or iron, drying in an aqueous solution of glycerin and some other examples.

Basically, plants intended for preservation, preferably from the listed methods, must be dry, that is, they must be cut in dry sunny weather. But, for example, before drying, it is recommended to put yarrow in water for two days so that it better retains its color when dried.

Drying flowers.

We all know how the sight of fresh flowers pleases the heart. Large or small, flashy or inconspicuous, bright or delicate - all flowers are good, because they enchant us with their aroma, attract the eye and instantly lift our spirits. We cannot always enjoy the sight and smell of fresh flowers. Severe frosts come, and the flower kingdom falls asleep. But there is no need to grieve and despair. There is a wonderful way not to part with your favorite summer flowers even in the January cold, and this method has been known for a long time. Of course, you already guessed that we are talking about drying fresh flowers. It is this topic that this chapter is devoted to.

It would seem that it could be simpler than simply drying a flower. All we have to do is pick it, admire it and hide it between the pages of a thick book - and after a while the flower will dry up. But will it remain just as attractive and beautiful, won’t you hurt its delicate petals and bud? The leaves will wither, become dull, and not a trace will remain of their former splendor.

A properly dried flower does not look like a pitiful and dull imitation of a living plant; on the contrary, it receives additional charm and becomes no less attractive and beautiful. Of course, the former aroma will not be there, but with careful drying you can preserve (albeit to a small extent) the natural smell of a once-picked flower.

A wide variety of cultivated, ornamental and wild plants can be dried.

In addition to flowers, you can dry bush branches, tough grasses, curly leaves, berries, tree roots, moss, and pine cones. Ledum, dried flowers, ears of corn, maple leaves, reeds, etc. are often dried.

Remember that the flowers you want to dry must be in the blooming stage, and dried flowers must be in the half-blooming stage.

When drying flowers, it is very important to ensure that they retain their natural color and shape. Let's look at the main methods of drying flowers to achieve this goal.

SAND DRYING

Collect river or any other sand. Sift it and bake it. It is necessary to heat the sand so that it loses moisture, since flowers cannot be dried in wet sand. If you place plants in wet sand, they will develop dirty, unsightly spots, which will ruin the appearance of the plants.

Dry in sand in cardboard boxes. Pour about 10 cm of sand onto the bottom of the box. Prepare the flowers. Remove the leaves from the stems, arrange the flowers or arrange them so that the inflorescences are at the bottom. Place them at a short distance from each other.

Then pour sand into the box, doing this very carefully, until all the inflorescences are covered with it. Store boxes of sand in a cool place for about two weeks.

After this period has expired, make holes in the bottom of the boxes through which pour the sand inside. Dry plants will remain safe and sound in the box. The only trouble that this method of drying causes is that small grains of sand remain between the leaves and petals, which, however, are easily removed. To do this, use a soft cloth or a brush with soft bristles.

DRYING FLOWERS IN WOOL

Plants such as daisies, poppies, zinnias, and rudbeckias are well dried in cotton wool. This drying method allows you to preserve the color and shape of many ornamental flowering plants. To use this method, you need to know when to cut the flowers, otherwise the cotton wool may have a bad effect on drying.

If you want to dry flowers in cotton wool, cut them in dry, sunny weather, always in the afternoon and when the flowers are in full bloom.

Make holes in cardboard or light plywood through which you pass the stems of cut flowers. In this case, the inflorescences will remain on the surface of the plywood or cardboard. To keep the shape of the flowers perfectly, place cotton wool under the inflorescences to maintain their natural arrangement. After these simple operations, hang the cardboard or plywood with flowers in a dry and warm place. Flowers dried correctly in this way will remain beautiful and pleasing to the eye.

If you want to dry a rose using cotton wool, here's what to do. Hang the flower with the bud down. Place cotton wool between the petals, which will maintain the natural shape of the flower and prevent it from shrinking and wrinkled.

DRYING FLOWERS IN STORM

Drying flowers using this product is also a very effective way to preserve the color and shape of plants. The fact is that flowers usually contain more moisture than other parts of the plant, so when they dry, uneven evaporation of water occurs, which leads to wrinkling of the petals, and therefore a loss of beauty. To eliminate this harmful process, various desiccants are used: burnt alum, borax, silica gel. They can be purchased at chemical stores. For maximum results, mix these desiccants with fine sand, which can be purchased at a hardware store. We will describe how to dry flowers using borax.

Choose a spacious cardboard box with paper at the bottom. Sprinkle borax on it in a 10 cm layer. After that, start arranging the flowers. Place them on a layer of borax with the florets facing down. Place carefully and carefully so as not to break or damage the petals. The distance between colors should not be very large. Pour in the borax carefully, spreading it around the flowers until it completely covers the flowers.

When the flowers are dry, make holes in the bottom of the box through which you carefully pour the borax. If you do not want to do this, remove the flowers by the stem with tweezers, pour the powder into a bowl and remove its remains from the dried buds with a small piece of cloth, cotton wool or a soft brush. This method is best for drying plants with rounded inflorescences, such as zinnias, lilies, daffodils, and peonies. In this way, you can dry well dahlia, delphinium, calendula, camellia, daisy, semi-double hollyhock, etc.

PRESS DRYING FLOWERS

Most likely, this is the most common and well-known way of drying flowers since childhood. Press-dried flowers are used by florists.

Plants are dried in this way using a herbarium folder and a herbarium mesh. The folder is very easy to make at home. Stock up on two sheets of thick cardboard or plywood and tie them with wide ribbons. With these ribbons, the folder can be easily tied and carried on the shoulder. The herbarium mesh consists of two wooden frames on which metal meshes with cells measuring 1.5 by 1.5 cm are stretched.

Place the flowers or their individual parts on a sheet of paper (newspaper can be used) and straighten them carefully. Place desiccant paper on each leaf so that it does not touch other parts of the flower. Spread the petals in the same way and separate them from each other with a thin layer of cotton wool or filter paper. Then cover the plants with another sheet of paper or newspaper and place them in a herbarium folder.

You can use a herbarium mesh at home. First place plants in several rows on a sheet of paper, and then on one of the frames. After this, place the second frame and tighten them with straps. Hang the frames in a cool, well-ventilated area and check after a few days that the flowers have dried properly. If you are not satisfied with something, correct this deficiency and continue to dry the plants until the end.

We introduced you to the main methods of drying flowers, which can be done at home. But in order to make a beautiful bouquet from dried flowers, it is important to know some secrets for caring for such plants. These are the little secrets.

If you have dried a flower that may fly away at the first breath of wind, use ordinary hairspray and use it to fix the inflorescence of the delicate plant.

Sometimes, when dried, flowers change color, become dull and do not look very aesthetically pleasing. To refresh the color of plants, use organic dyes. When tinting flowers, remember that you should not give the plant a color that is not typical for it, this is considered bad form. You can make the color more saturated, fresh, but you should not change it to another.

To give the plant a fresh green color, use a decoction of cornflower flowers with the addition of table vinegar. To preserve the yellow paint, spray the flowers in a wilting state with a decoction of maple leaves or calendula flowers.

Dried flowers need to be properly cared for and kept in good conditions. Here are the general features of caring for dry plants.

To reduce the humidity in the room where dried flowers are stored, use a fan. Ventilate the room more often. It should be cool and dry here. The most acceptable air temperature for dried flowers is from 10 to 20 °C. It's much hotter in our apartments, so use humidifiers (you can put cups of water). Dried flowers are well influenced by proximity to flowers in pots that are watered from a spray bottle.

Make sure that a flower covered with mold does not “infect” the other flowers that are in the same bouquet or bunch. It must be removed immediately.

Dried flowers break very easily, so they need to be protected and placed not in a passage or in a draft.

Dried flowers quickly become covered with a layer of dust, which makes them dull and inconspicuous. Remove dust using a small rubber blower. More durable arrangements of dried flowers can be washed with a gentle stream of warm shower.

If you really like and treasure a particular dried flower arrangement, cover it with a glass dome or a clear box.

Drying in the oven.

Flowers, leaves, fruits are laid out on a baking sheet, placed in the oven and dried with the door ajar at medium temperature. The process of such drying must be constantly monitored, since its duration directly depends on the type of plant. At high temperatures, some flowers may burn.

Microwave drying.

This drying process takes just a few seconds, so it has no equal in preserving the color of plants. It is very effective to dry silver-colored herbs and flowers in this way. The method of drying plants in a microwave oven is quite new, so there are no clear rules for it. The result is often obtained through experimentation.

The easiest way to dry in a microwave oven is the open drying method. With it, flowers are laid out on several layers of filtered paper or culinary parchment placed in the oven. It is turned on for 2-3 minutes at half power, then the plants are taken out and hung by the stems for two days. The open drying method is suitable for plants with numerous small flowers - gypsophila, lavender, goldenrod, mantle.

Plants with large flowers, such as rose, tulip, chrysanthemum, anemone, violet, are processed using another method - drying in silica gel. In contrast to the method described above, before placing the plants in the dehumidifier, they are placed in a vessel with water so that they are saturated with it, and their stems are strengthened with wire only after drying. The container with silica gel and the flowers placed in it is placed in the microwave along with a cup half filled with water. The oven is turned on at full power for 1-3 minutes, then turned off, but not opened, but the flowers are taken out after 30 minutes.

Crystallization.

You need to prepare a supersaturated solution of coarse table salt (2:1), immerse branches, leaves, cones or some other selected material in it and leave for 1-2 days. When the plants begin to form crystals, it is removed and dried. The size of the crystals depends on the grinding of the salt; it is not recommended to use “Extra” salt. In this case, if you need to achieve results faster, you can dip the plant material into a boiling solution and immediately cool it or take it out into the cold. If desired, crystals can be obtained not only white, but also blue by adding copper sulfate to the solution, and greenish-brown by adding iron sulfate. This method of “salting” in boiling water is only suitable for those plants that cannot be cooked at high temperatures, including: dense branches of trees and shrubs, fruits, cones, dry hogweed umbrellas.

To crystallize herbs, a solution of alum is often used - 500 g per 1 liter of water. Dry herbs must first be tied into a pack, boil the solution and pour it over the herbs. After this they are dried for 12 hours. When alum cools, it forms crystals on the surface of plants.

Snow effect.

The method is suitable for coniferous branches and cones. They are called office glue, and then they are dipped into a plastic bag in which foam has been rubbed in advance. You can simply sprinkle the areas coated with glue with copper salt. When dry, shake off excess foam or salt. Such “snowflakes” can be replaced with grated paraffin.

Frost effect.

The branches coated with glue are sprinkled with thin strips (2x20mm) of tissue paper and cellophane mixed together.

The effect of ice, icicles.

The prepared parts of the plant are painted with a mixture of PVA glue and bronze powder. Another method is to dip the plant material in varnish and then spray it with silver or bronze paint.

If silver or gold spots are needed in the composition, parts of the plants are coated with colorless or black nitro varnish and, while the surface is still wet, silver or gold powder is applied to it with a swab.

Bleaching.

In order to bleach cut grains, they are exposed to the sun and kept there for a long time. As a result, the plants acquire a white color with a warm tint. You can also prepare a two percent solution of bleach or soda, pour it into a container with plants placed in it and close the lid tightly. In this position, the plants need to be kept at room temperature for 4-5 days. After this, drain the solution, and hang dry the plants that have turned white, with a slightly blue tint.

Coloring.

This method is used to change the color of the plant, get it more saturated or completely refresh it. Dried plants can be partially or entirely painted using a spray gun, an airbrush or a can of nitro enamel. When spraying a plant, it is recommended to place them in a box with one open side so that when spraying, splashes of the paint used do not fall on other objects. Ink, gouache, aniline and food dyes are also used for coloring. After painting, the plant should be lightly rinsed in water and dried.

If you need to color the whole plant, it is dipped into a container in a solution of aniline dye. Before painting, the stems should be washed with hot water and sterile powder.

Brushes of white lilac can be painted in soft pink, blue, golden yellow, carmine red. To do this, flatten the end of the stems with a hammer and place the branches with flowers in a vessel with water tinted with the desired color for 2 hours. After painting the brushes, the plants are placed in clean water.

When painting hard material, for example poppy or flax boxes, they are first covered with gouache, to which PVA glue is added to secure the paint layer. To get white and pastel colors, use water-based paint with the addition of gouache, but without glue.

The panicles of cereals and other plants can be made multi-colored. To do this, they are first washed in hot water, and then left for 10-12 hours in a bleach solution (3 tablespoons per 1 liter of water). Then the discolored panicles are washed in cold water, allowed to drain, and the plants are placed in a hot solution of aniline dye until the desired color is obtained. After this process, the panicles are hung for a day and then placed in a vessel to dry completely.

To treat large plants, gypsophila, and ears of corn, use aerosols for skin care or car tint. In this case, plants can stand in bouquets.

Skeletonization.

Sometimes the arrangement requires openwork, see-through leaves, used in phantom bouquets (ghosts). These bouquets were popular in the last century in England; they were based on lower, lace-like leaves that were visible through. In fact, all soft tissue had been removed from the leaves, leaving only a network of branched veins. Such bouquets were also called “ghost bouquets.”

The leaves of grapes, ivy, beech, and poplar are most suitable for skeletonization. They need to be picked in warm, dry weather and placed in water for 2-3 weeks. During this time, the pulp of the leaves will collapse and only the “skeleton” of leaf veins remains. It is washed in running water and dried. The skeletons obtained in this way are glued to blades of grass or stems using drops of glue or plasticine, and then used in compositions.

Wax flowers.

To get flowers that are resistant to moisture, you need to melt the remains of old white candles and dip fresh flowers into the resulting mass. Then immediately dip the flowers in wax into a bowl of cold water. Plants obtained in this way can be used in compositions for bathrooms.

Strengthening the stems.

When making compositions of fresh flowers, wire is needed mainly to strengthen the soft or hollow stem. More often, the method of attaching the stem with wire is used when making arrangements of dried flowers. In this case, plants are grown, strengthened, and their stems are replaced, using wire and various methods of attaching it.

It is recommended to attach some plants with short or weak stems to an artificial stem before drying. Some small plants used in dried plant arrangements are pre-tied into bouquets to make them easier to set up. To tie such bouquets, medium-section wire is used. In this case, several plants need to be collected into a bouquet, their stems trimmed at the bottom and a piece of wire placed parallel to them. Then bend the wire and twist it around the stems, and cut off the excess.

With some methods of drying plants, it is necessary to leave a stem 2.5-5 cm long, so subsequently such a stem must be extended. This is done using wire of medium or large cross-section. To do this, a piece of such wire is applied to the stem of the flower, and they are tied together with thin wire.

After drying, the hollow stems are made entirely of wire and to decorate it, a special green ribbon is used. It is pressed against the base of the flower, the stem is turned around its axis and the ribbon is wrapped at an angle. After the stem is completely wrapped, the tape is cut and its end is tucked in.

Caring for dry bouquets.

Over time, bouquets of dried flowers certainly lose their original appearance - they become covered with dust and fade. Against dust, you can use a simple brush and use it to gently brush away dust from dry plants in the fresh air. After removing the dust, old bouquets can be freshened up by generously spraying them with hairspray or just clear varnish. You can also revive the composition by spraying the plants in them with a silver, gold, blue or red spray. You can process the elements of the composition in assembled form, or by carefully disassembling them piece by piece and then putting them back together again.

Material and equipment.

In order to create a composition from dry plants, you need not only taste, but also certain skills, manual dexterity and the ability to use some special tools.

You will need pliers, various knives and scissors, ropes, tapes, wire, glue and much more.

Knives: You need a simple sharp kitchen knife to score the hard surfaces of the fruit and a large knife to give the plant mounting mass the desired shape. A thin blade knife, popular recently, will also come in handy.

Scissors: ordinary scissors for cutting blades of grass, flowers and ribbons, as well as pruning shears for shortening cuttings.

Nippers: you will need them to cut the wire and, for example, the tip of a pine cone.

Pliers: They cut the wire and, if necessary, hold it over an open fire.

Wire: it should be of different thickness and flexibility. Wire is used to strengthen and grow stems, tie plants into bouquets and fix them in vessels. Frames for wreaths, garlands, etc. are also made from wire.

Ribbons: Duct tape or paper tape is used to support the stems on the wire and to decorate the wire itself. Ribbons, braid, twine, silk threads and burlap help secure the plants together and strengthen the composition itself.

Glue: Quick-drying silicone glue is used to glue dry plants and attach their stems to fasteners. For this purpose, a special electric gun is purchased, which is filled with silicone tubes. The heated silicone firmly glues the plants, attaching them to the holders or to other plants.

Fasteners: oasis is used as holders for dry plants. But unlike the oasis used for fresh flowers, it should be gray or brown and, of course, does not need to be wet.

Foam plastic is used as a mass for fixing flowers, which can be given any shape. Recently, the well-known polyurethane foam, sold in cylinders of various sizes, has become a popular holder for dry plants. After drying, it is easily cut, the desired shape is obtained from it, and thin stems of dry plants are inserted into it without much effort. If desired, they can be fixed in this material using a drop of silicone glue. Well-known plasticine, putty, etc. are also used as fasteners.

Brushes and paints: used for painting cones and other natural materials.

Sprayers: - these can be hairsprays, decorative varnishes for fixing flowers and colored sprays of different tones.

Vessels: The vessels used for compositions of dried flowers are the same as for fresh flowers. True, they can let water through. Baskets, boxes, various driftwood, etc. can be used as vessels. Of course, the vessel for the composition should be taller, match the plant material in size, texture and color, and this must be taken into account in arrangements with dried flowers.

Types of dried flowers, how to prepare and dry them.

Introduction.

Preparing material for a bouquet of dried flowers begins with choosing an assortment of plants, the time of cutting flowers, leaves, branches and stems of plants, as well as choosing a method for preserving them.

When composing the composition, dried flowers and many garden and field plants are used, which, when properly dried and stored, do not lose their decorative appearance: acanthus (acanthus), amaranth tailed, aruncus (volzhanka), astilbe, gypsophila paniculata, goldenrod (solidago), groundsel, buttercup garden, molucella, Echinops, fern, wormwood, eryngium, edelweiss, yarrow, achys woolly, celosia and others.

Dried flowers.

These are annual and perennial plants, which are mainly cultivated as annuals, and have inflorescences with dry, brightly colored petals. Some of them are also used for bouquets of fresh flowers. Plants are propagated by seeds and sown directly into the ground in May. To obtain high-quality material for bouquets, it is necessary to cut off the shoots with inflorescences in time and dry them properly. To do this, the leaves are removed from the cut flower stalks, the plants are tied into bunches of 15-20 pieces and hung in a dry, ventilated room with their heads down.

Ammobium– the plant must be picked in a half-bloomed state, when the tubular flowers are not yet visible.

Heliptherium, acroclinium– shoots are cut off in dry weather, at the initial stage of inflorescence opening.

Helichrysum, immortelle, tsmin– inflorescences are cut off at the beginning of dissolution or in buds. Later, they form seeds in the center of the basket, because of this the plants lose their decorative properties.

Xeranthemum, dried flower– it is recommended to cut the inflorescences in half bloom. To preserve the natural color of the baskets, they need to be immersed in a solution of hydrochloric acid (1:12) for 2-3 seconds.

Lonas– the inflorescences are cut off when they fully bloom.

Statice, kermek (broadleaf and Tatarian) – inflorescences are cut off when they are full

Dried flowers are one of the favorite materials of florists; with their help you can create the most unusual flower arrangements. However, dried flowers are used not only by professional bouquet makers - hydrangeas and tree leaves can also be dried at home. A herbarium will definitely come in handy in everyday life - some plants have medicinal properties and can act as tea, others retain their natural beauty and serve as unusual interior decoration.

Where are dried flowers useful?

The scope of application of dried flowers is very wide; they are in the arsenal of florists, healers, designers and many craftsmen who know how to create real masterpieces from scrap materials. Let's take a closer look at the decorative properties of dried flowers. When drying, some plants retain their shape and color, and also acquire a special charm - you must agree that fading beauty can captivate, inspire and delight. Creating compositions from dried flowers is a great idea for winter creativity: the herbarium collected at the end of autumn turns into material suitable for needlework already in December.

Sometimes, to create a bright, eye-catching bouquet you don’t need to make any effort at all - just put an armful of dried flowers in an empty vase. For those who are not looking for easy ways, there are other ways to use the herbarium. You can use it to make an interesting panel or even a painting with a clearly visible plot. Among the flowers that lend themselves well to drying are helichrysum, better known as immortelle. The highlight of a composition of dried plants can be cereals, symbolizing a good harvest and prosperity.

Some dried flowers become discolored, even if the drying technology has been followed. But for a real master this is not a problem; he can either advantageously play up the texture of a faded plant with the help of an appropriate frame, or paint the dried flower with bright colors. When composing a bouquet of dried flowers, it is very important to adhere to the principles of composition - every detail must be appropriate, in harmony with the rest.

How to dry flowers: a review of simple methods

If you are involved in floristry or are interested in new types of needlework, sooner or later you will want to know the answer to the question of how to properly dry flowers for a herbarium so that they retain their color and look attractive. There are several types of drying, the choice of the optimal one depends on the characteristics of the plant. Among the simplest and most popular drying methods:

• paper and press - each flower and leaf should be carefully placed between two sheets of paper (newspapers and napkins will do); a fairly heavy press should be placed on top - a wooden plank or a stack of books;
• microwave oven – modern craftsmen prefer not to waste time and dry the material for future crafts in a microwave oven; Note that this method has a significant drawback - during heating, the flower petals lose their shape;
• paper and iron - to dry plants in this way, you need to place them on a sheet of paper and select the optimal temperature; Please note: the leaves may lose their natural color.

When asked how to dry flowers at home, many answer unequivocally - place the inflorescences between the pages of a thick book. However, this method, known to everyone who has ever had to make a herbarium, is not always effective and is associated with costs - after inappropriate use, the book will become unsuitable for reading, and the petals placed in it may not dry out, but become damp.

To preserve dried flowers, a bouquet of them should never be placed in a vase with water. The composition will last much longer in a dry container - for example, in a basket. Let us emphasize once again that dried flowers that have faded during drying can be painted in any desired shade. Both regular gouache and special aerosol paints are suitable for these purposes.

What dried flowers are suitable for creating bouquets?

Professional florists always have dried flowers at their disposal. They are used to decorate ordinary flower arrangements, and can also serve as an independent material for creating crafts. If you turn to the flower dictionary, you will notice that bouquets of dried flowers have a special meaning - they are given if they want to end a relationship beautifully and succinctly. When choosing a drying technology, you should pay attention to the properties of the flower. Some are unpretentious and can turn into an attractive herbarium even under heavy pressure, while others require a special approach. The second category, of course, includes roses - it is very difficult to dry delicate buds so that they do not lose their natural beauty. One of the easiest ways is to hang roses, buds down, on a clothesline. In this case, it is worth making sure that the flowers do not touch each other and are not in direct sunlight. The room in which roses are dried should be ventilated at least twice a day. The entire process will take approximately two weeks.

Another way to dry roses is to place them in a box of sand. Before carrying out the procedure, it is advisable to sift the sand and hold it over the fire for some time. Roses must be placed in the sand with the flowers facing up, and the buds must be completely covered. The box should be kept in a dry place for at least three weeks. To remove sand, you need to make a hole in it.

Chamomile is also widely used for decorative purposes, and it is much easier to dry than a capricious rose. Before drying, the inflorescences should be carefully prepared - separated from the stem, cleaned of any remaining soil. Under no circumstances should chamomile be dried in the sun - light and heat can only deteriorate it. It is advisable to store the inflorescences in a dark and dry place - for example, in the attic or in a closet. Dried flowers make wonderful panels and unusual herbariums. Personally created interior decoration will become unforgettable

It is called creeping hop, beer hop, climbing hop, bitter hop... This powerful and beautiful vine has everything to be useful to humans. Hops is revered by many peoples of the world; it is a symbol of fertility, strong economy, prowess, happiness and longevity; it is depicted on coats of arms and coins. But many summer residents are not at all happy with him. Hops tend to grow rapidly, suppressing the growth of cultivated plants around them. But is it really necessary to fight it?

Pork with eggplant - a delicious stew with vegetables and spicy rice, easy and simple to prepare for dinner or lunch. It will take about half an hour to prepare, so this recipe can be classified as “if you need dinner quickly.” The dish turns out nourishing, aromatic, piquant. Turmeric gives the ingredients a beautiful golden-yellow color, while cloves, cardamom, garlic and chili add a piquant touch to the dish. For this recipe, choose lean meat.

Seed propagation in the garden strawberries we are used to, unfortunately, leads to the appearance of less productive plants and weaker bushes. But another type of these sweet berries, alpine strawberries, can be successfully grown from seeds. Let's learn about the main advantages and disadvantages of this crop, consider the main varieties and features of agricultural technology. The information presented in this article will help you decide whether it is worth allocating a place for it in the berry garden.

Despite the confusion with the name “Christmas cactus” that has accumulated over the past decades, one of the most recognizable and colorful forest cacti, epiphyllums, remains everyone’s favorites. Leafless, with flattened stems, flowering amazingly profusely, hybrid epiphyllums with their hanging shoots and delicate flowers do not require particularly complex care from their owners. They can become the most striking flowering succulent plant in any collection.

Merchant style buckwheat with meat and pumpkin is an easy recipe for a delicious dinner or lunch. I recommend finishing it in the oven, although you can also cook it on the stove. Firstly, it tastes better in the oven, as the buckwheat steams, becomes very tasty, and the meat turns out tender. Secondly, the hour that it languishes in the oven can be spent on yourself or communicating with loved ones. Perhaps many will decide that buckwheat with meat is an ordinary dish, but try cooking it according to this recipe.

Often, when we see a beautiful flower, we instinctively bend down to smell its fragrance. All fragrant flowers can be divided into two large groups: nocturnal (pollinated by moths) and daytime, whose pollinators are mainly bees. Both groups of plants are important for the florist and designer, because we often walk around the garden during the day and relax in our favorite corners when evening comes. We are never overwhelmed by the scent of our favorite fragrant flowers.

Many gardeners consider pumpkin to be the queen of garden beds. And not only because of its size, variety of shapes and colors, but also for its excellent taste, healthy qualities and rich harvest. Pumpkin contains a large amount of carotene, iron, various vitamins and minerals. Thanks to the possibility of long-term storage, this vegetable supports our health all year round. If you decide to plant a pumpkin on your plot, you will be interested in learning how to get the largest possible harvest.

Scotch eggs - incredibly delicious! Try to prepare this dish at home, there is nothing difficult in preparation. Scotch eggs are a hard-boiled egg wrapped in minced meat, breaded in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and deep-fried. For frying, you will need a frying pan with a high side, and if you have a deep fryer, then that’s just great - even less hassle. You will also need oil for frying so as not to smoke in the kitchen. Choose farm eggs for this recipe.

One of the most amazing large-flowered tubs of Dominican Cubanola fully justifies its status as a tropical miracle. Warm-loving, slow-growing, with huge and in many ways unique bells of flowers, Cubanola is a fragrant star with a complex character. It requires special conditions in the rooms. But for those who are looking for exclusive plants for their interior, a better (and more chocolatey) candidate for the role of indoor giant cannot be found.

Chickpea curry with meat is a hearty hot dish for lunch or dinner, inspired by Indian cuisine. This curry is quick to prepare but requires some prep. The chickpeas must first be soaked in plenty of cold water for several hours, preferably overnight; the water can be changed several times. It is also better to leave the meat in the marinade overnight so that it turns out juicy and tender. Then you should boil the chickpeas until tender and then prepare the curry according to the recipe.

Rhubarb cannot be found in every garden plot. It's a pity. This plant is a storehouse of vitamins and can be widely used in cooking. What is not prepared from rhubarb: soups and cabbage soup, salads, delicious jam, kvass, compotes and juices, candied fruits and marmalade, and even wine. But that's not all! The large green or red rosette of leaves of the plant, reminiscent of burdock, acts as a beautiful background for annuals. It is not surprising that rhubarb can also be seen in flower beds.

Today, the trend is to experiment with unusual combinations and non-standard colors in the garden. For example, plants with black inflorescences have become very fashionable. All black flowers are original and specific, and it is important for them to be able to select suitable partners and location. Therefore, this article will not only introduce you to an assortment of plants with slate-black inflorescences, but will also teach you the intricacies of using such mystical plants in garden design.

3 delicious sandwiches - a cucumber sandwich, a chicken sandwich, a cabbage and meat sandwich - a great idea for a quick snack or for an outdoor picnic. Just fresh vegetables, juicy chicken and cream cheese and a little seasoning. There are no onions in these sandwiches; if you wish, you can add onions marinated in balsamic vinegar to any of the sandwiches; this will not spoil the taste. Having quickly prepared snacks, all that remains is to pack a picnic basket and head to the nearest green lawn.

Depending on the varietal group, the age of seedlings suitable for planting in open ground is: for early tomatoes - 45-50 days, average ripening periods - 55-60 and late ones - at least 70 days. When planting tomato seedlings at a younger age, the period of its adaptation to new conditions is significantly extended. But success in obtaining a high-quality tomato harvest also depends on carefully following the basic rules for planting seedlings in open ground.