Dried Flowers: Techniques and Ideas for the Modern Home

By Morgane Illes and Hervé Goluza

Discover a fresh approach to flower arranging with this guide to dried botanicals, featuring a thirty-flower catalogue and fifteen projects to inspire.
 
If the thought of dried flower arrangements is conjuring up images of stuffy décor that hasn't seen the light of day in decades—think again. Preserved floral arrangements are cool again, and not only are they beautiful, they’ll also last infinitely longer than fresh flowers.
 
This gorgeous book offers a new approach to flower arranging with dried botanicals, exploring ways to preserve flowers’ beauty forever through drying and pressing, and then presents a catalogue of thirty flowers that are interesting for colour, texture and sculptural appeal in arrangements.
 
Fifteen step-by-step projects then give you creative ideas for displaying dried flowers including:
 

• Bouquets
• Wreaths
• Wall hangings
• Wall art
• Flower crowns and buttonholes for weddings 
• Terrariums
• Candles and more 

 
These exquisite floral creations will give a bohemian and poetic touch to your interior décor and everlasting beauty to your home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781446379677

Book preview

CHAPTER I

Gathering, drying and preserving flowers

From summer to autumn there are many flowers and grasses readily available that are suitable for drying. Just as we make jams and preserves in cooking, you can also simply dry your plants and thus get the benefit of them throughout the year.

First steps

Drying flowers requires very little in the way of equipment and you can gather many species yourself on your walks in the countryside.

Walkers, keep your eyes open! Some wild flower varieties are within easy reach, growing by the side of roads and paths, for those taking the time to observe nature closely. Species such as hare’s tail grasses, and other members of the vast Gramineae family that florists sometimes overlook are easy to pick and dry for making beautiful bouquets to preserve!

When setting off on a walk, take a pair of secateurs with you and a basket for gathering your flowers and plant material. Look at nature carefully and respect it by cutting only small quantities of each plant.

Waste no time in starting the drying process! The quality of your dried flowers depends on the raw material; flowers must be really fresh, so prepare them quickly once you’ve picked them. It is preferable to pick in the morning, in dry, sunny weather, as dampness extends drying time and dulls colours.

Once back from your walk, you can, if needed, stand the stems in water for a few hours to let your treasures regain their freshness before you start to dry them. You can also buy your flowers from your local florist, provided they are really fresh. The flowers will have already travelled to the shop after being harvested, so ask for some from that day’s delivery. They must not show any signs of wilting, and the leaves and stems must be really green.

Once home, quickly set them to dry. Your florist may also be able to supply you with already dried imported exotic plants, such as Banksias.

YOU WILL NEED

Secateurs

Basket

Raffia

Tissue paper or Kraft paper

Air-drying technique

Hanging flowers upside down is the easiest and most natural way of drying plant material. Virtually all flowers and grasses can be dried in this way.

Tie your flowers together in small bunches of five to ten stems using a piece of raffia or elastic band. Remove the lower leaves below the point where you tie them together. Fasten tightly