Drying Flowers from your Garden

12/03/08

There are several methods available for drying fresh flowers from your garden. The first and oldest method is to hang dry the flowers. It is also the least expensive method. The second method is to use a material called silica gel. This needs to be purchased at a craft store of flower shop. Before either method, the flowers need to be fresh and not wet.

To hang dry flowers, cut the stems to the desired length of the flowers you wish to dry. Remove most of the leaves and bunch like flowers together (i.e., roses with roses, lilies with lilies, etc.). Tie the bunch with string. Hang the flower bunches in a warm, dry, and dark place, such as an attic or an enclosed porch. The drying process will take a minimum of three weeks depending on the type of flower. After the third week, check daily to see if the flowers have dried. When dried in this manner, the flowers do lose some of their shape and color, but they are still pretty and usable. This is a fairly long process, which is why some people use the other method: silica gel.

The best way to dry flowers that retain their color is to use silica gel. Silica gel is not a gel at all, it is a soft, sandlike material. It can be purchased by the box or can at craft stores or florists. The gel absorbs the moisture from the flowers and gives them a crisp, dry, delicate feel. They do retain a lot of their color.

Using any air-tight container, fill it with silica gel halfway. Gently put the flower head into the gel. Be sure to completely cover the flower, especially between the petals. You can use your fingers (preferably while you're wearing gloves) or a small plastic spoon. Pour some additional silica gel over the flower to completely bury it.

The drying process with this method takes 3-4 days. Be sure to check daily after the third day. You do not want it to get over dried as it may make the flower break.

After the drying process is complete, you should store them in a dry, air-tight container. These dried flowers can be used in many different crafts. They can be attached to wreaths or gently glued onto invitations and cards. A special way to display your dried flowers is to mat and frame them.

 

Flowers Foods maintains outlook for 2008 and 2009 (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
Bakery goods company Flowers Foods Inc. on Tuesday maintained its guidance for 2008 and 2009, saying its business continues to be strong despite the slump in the economy.

Flowers Foods Reiterates 2008, 2009 Outlook (Fox News)
Flowers Foods Reiterates 2008, 2009 Outlook

Flowers Foods Hosts Analyst Day in New York; Reaffirms Guidance for 2008 and 2009 (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
At an event hosted in New York today for financial analysts and broadcast live over the Internet, executives of Flowers Foods provided insight into the company's core strategies and reiterated previously issued guidance for 2008 and 2009.

Flowers for the Taj (New York Times)
The author?s grandfather bejeweled the rooms of the Taj Mahal hotel with flowers for years. The last thing he would have wanted would be to use them to decorate the dead.

Cut Flowers: All-natural Stress Busters (Lexington Clipper-Herald)
(ARA) - Work deadlines, parenting struggles, family time pressures and relationship challenges -- modern life is full of stress. The good news is there is an all-natural, relatively low-cost way to relieve stress and beautify your home at the same time -- cut flowers.

Wreaths, flowers laid at crash site (Newstalk ZB via Yahoo!Xtra News)
Some of the families of the New Zealanders killed in the Air New Zealand Airbus crash off the southern coast of France have laid wreaths and flowers upon the water.

Killers' Brandon Flowers: Style Icon or Just Insane? (Spin)
When Brandon Flowers took the stage for the Killers' Saturday Night Live appearance, I think I spoke for most viewers when I gasped: " What is he wearing? " A black tuxedo jacket festooned with huge plumed epaulettes? What is that? Taxidermy chic? Showgirl cool? The next day, I couldn't remember the songs they played. I couldn't remember if guitarist Dave Keuning even wore pants. All I ...

Wreaths, flowers laid at crash site (NZCity)
2 December 2008 Some of the families of the New Zealanders killed in the Air New Zealand Airbus crash off the southern coast of France have laid wreaths and flowers upon the water.

Man shot, killed near Conservatory of Flowers (San Francisco Chronicle)
A young man from San Diego who had recently moved to San Francisco to join friends and pursue new opportunities died Saturday night after he was shot in the back near the Conservatory of Flowers at Golden Gate Park, police and the man's father said Sunday....

Hospital patients touched by anonymous donations of flowers (Corpus Christi Caller-Times)
Gifts delivered through Christus Spohn foundation

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