Have you ever stuck a flower, like a corsage from a wedding or other special occasion that you wanted to keep, in between the pages of a thick book? After awhile, when you open the book again, the flower is dried, brown in color now, and flat. This is called pressing flowers. While being pressed, the flowers dry out too. Over time, the flower will deteriorate and become hardly recognizable. This was once a popular way for people to preserve, so to speak, flowers of every sort.

Nowadays drying flowers has become an art form. Dried flower arrangements can be seen in a lot of homes and businesses: they don't take much care and they stay looking nice for a long time to come.

To dry flowers, you must first choose some fresh ones. (This is the probably the easiest method of drying flowers.) The freshest will be out of your own garden, of course, picked when they are free from wetness from the rain or dew. Cut the flowers when they are still fresh--don't wait until they have bloomed or they won't preserve well. Be sure to cut off at least four or five inches of the stem along with the flower that you want to preserve so you will have a way of hanging each one.

Flowers need a good place to air dry. The best place to hang them will usually be in a closet that is warm, dry, and out of the sunlight.THe clothes rod in a closet,minus the clothes, of course, is an excellant place to hang the flowers from. If you need more space, if you have alot of flowers to dry, then you can hang additional rods from the existing one.

Now, carefully, tie the flower stems together in small bundles. Separate the flowers one from the other as much as possible so each one gets sufficient space to air dry.Hang each bundle of flowers upside down, by their stems,from the rods you have set up in the closet. Hanging them this way keeps the flowers and leaves in an upward position as they dry. This way, they won't look droopy and old. Leave the flowers undisturbed in the closet for about a week or so. You can then check on their progress. How long it will take for your flowers to dry will depend on the humidity in the closet as well as the condition of the flowers, etc. To finish preserving your flowers, you can purchase a special spray at your local craft store.It is much simpler just to mist each dried flower with regular hair spray.Hair spray works just as well, and it costs a lot less too. Be sure to let each flower dry well after spraying them before you place them in an arrangement or use them however you choose. Remember to handle the flowers with care throughout the drying process, and especially now that you have your finished products.

Dried flowers make beautiful arrangements. You can also dry some greenery to put with them in an attractive flower pot or vase. The possibilities are simply endless!