Besides their decorative purposes, dried flowers also have practical functions, such as cooking, perfumery, and homemade body products. If you want to reap their benefits, the garden maintenance pros from Fantastic Gardeners have come to share all they know about the flowers that dry best and how to do it.

Brief History of Flower Drying

Crafting with flowers, such as drying and preserving them, has a long history, both in symbolism and practice. For example, the Egyptians’ embalming practices included dried berries, seeds, and wreaths of flowers, which hinted at the time of the year when the person was entombed. Later on, Ancient Romans celebrated with garlands of bay laurel leaves. The plant’s greenery symbolised crowns. 

During the 16th century, the Japanese practiced the art of making pictures with pressed flowers and plants, known as Oshibana. This influenced the Victorians with affection for flowers and spread all the way to the Americas.

Nowadays, we still use flowers to pay tribute to deceased relatives and friends, which serve as aromatic and visual guides that faithfully escort humans through memorable moments in life and into the afterlife. 

Strawflowers

Strawflowers come in a variety of colours, such as red, yellow, pink, and even white. These flowers dry fast and look fantastic as decoration. This is because their petals don’t fall easily, especially before blooming fully. However, because of their delicate stems, strawflowers need to be supported by a wire while drying, especially if you want to use them as a part of an arrangement.

Before you start drying strawflowers, acquire all the right tools. What you will need:

• floral wire; 
• wire cutters; 
• floral tape; 
• rubber band. 

Preferably, the floral tape should be green to look more natural when covering the wire. Flowers with thin stems, like strawflowers, need wiring because they crumble when dried. 

When choosing strawflowers for drying, look for ones that haven’t fully opened yet. Once you put them to dry, they will open completely. 

• To dry strawflowers, follow these steps:
• Cut the stem of the strawflower around 2 fingers below the base. 
• Cut a piece of floral wire big enough to substitute the stem.
• Stick the end of the wire into the stub and through the centre of the flower. 
• Bend the end of the wire in the form of a hook and poke it back through the strawflower. Press the hook right next to the stem wire. 
• Wrap the wires together tightly using the floral tape and continue downwards to cover the entire length of the wire stem.
• Group a few strawflowers in a bundle and carefully wrap a rubber band around their stems. 
• Turn the strawflowers upside down and hang them on a hanger in a dry, dark space. 

After a few weeks, check on how far the flowers have dried. You can tell if they’re ready by moving them around while listening for rustling noises. 

Peonies

Peonies are large, beautiful spring-blooming flowers that are perfect for drying because they retain their lush colours and remain firm even after being dried up.

When choosing peonies for drying, go for ones with newly opened blooms. Afterward, follow these steps: 

• Cut their stems down to around 15 centimetres and remove all their leaves. 
• Avoid grouping more than 3 peonies together to dry because the flowers won’t dry evenly.
• Use a rubber band to hold the stems together and hang them upside down on a nail. Allow enough room between each flower for proper air circulation. 

The best place to hang peonies to dry is somewhere cool, dark, and dry with no sunlight. Give them around 2 weeks to dry perfectly.

Bear in mind that bomb types of peonies tend to air dry faster than ones with single petals. This is because hanging individual peonies upside down makes the petals go downward and inward. This will cause the final dried flower not to be as open.

Marigolds

Marigolds are attractive annual flowers that look stunning when dried out. This is mainly because of their firm and colourful petals, which remain intact even after the flowers have been dried. 

Marigolds are in their ideal condition for drying during their peak blooming period. The process of drying them is pretty straightforward, like with most other flowers:

• Start by cutting the flowers at the base of the stems.
• Bundle marigolds in pairs of 4 to 6 and secure them together with a rubber band. The stems will shrink when the flowers start drying, so it’s important to tie them tightly.
• Place them on a hook to dry and tie twine around it.
• Tie the rubber band with the twine and let the flowers dry entirely while hanging upside down for 2 to 4 weeks.

The perfect location to dry marigolds is somewhere warm with low humidity and good air circulation. Avoid places that let in direct sunlight. 

Lavender

Lavender has the most lovely scent when dried and has incredible healing properties. If you start harvesting it in early spring, the more you prune it, the more flowers will grow. 

When choosing lavender flowers for drying, pick younger buds and collect them in the early morning after the dew has dried. 

Drying lavender is pretty straightforward:

• Cut the lavender flower just above the junction or side branch. 
• Hang wands in small bundles upside down, secured with twine.
• Dry in a dark and warm place with good air circulation.

In 2 to 3 weeks, the flowers should be dehydrated. If the weather is hot, it may take even less. Some of the colour may fade, but most of the dried flowers will retain their original hues.

Flash-drying 

If you’re looking for a faster drying method, flash drying is perfect. Pick your flowers and throw them in the trunk of your car. It may sound strange, but a car trunk is ideal for flash-drying bundles of large flowers. Simply tossing the flowers in the car trunk when parked in the sun for 24 hours will do the job quickly and preserve their colour effectively. They should be in a “crinkling tissue paper” condition when you check on them. You’ll know that when you hear their petals make the noise of crinkling paper. 

Final Words

Once you learn which flowers dry well and what techniques to use, the possibilities of what you can make with them are almost endless. Besides drying them, you can also try pressing flowers – one of the oldest and most economical ways to preserve your garden’s harvest. 

Even though not all flowers dry well, the most important part when taking up this practice is to have fun. Ultimately, you will be surprised with all the imaginative ideas you’ll come up with to use them and add everlasting beauty to your home and gifts. 

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