Give your flowers a second life by making them into splendid displays for your home! Follow this guide for tips on preserving flowers and ways to display them in your home. For the best results, pluck flowers in the morning or at night when they are freshest.
Pressed flowers
Pressing flowers is an excellent way to preserve the riches of your garden. Find a heavy book, open it, and tuck in a piece of wax paper or parchment. Place your flowers facedown and make sure they don’t overlap. Leave them there for about ten days, or until you see they have a papery texture.
Useful flowers for this technique include dahlias, cosmos, hibiscus, and other flowers with thin petals. Display your pressed flowers in a specimen frame to add art to your walls!
Air drying
Air drying is a common technique for hearty flowers like roses and lavender. Tie the stems together to make small bouquets like the ones pictured below. Next, hang them upside down in a cool area away from direct sunlight. Allow them to remain drying for two to three weeks. Once they are completely dry, you can add ribbons and hang these lovely bouquets around your home!
You can also hang your dry flowers with decorative lights to add a pleasant rustic touch to your windows and walls.
Glue air-dried roses onto a wreath for a warm, Victorian touch to your home.
Using your microwave
Are you in a hurry to decorate your home? You can use a microwave and speed up the drying process! To use this method, you will need silica gel, which you can find at any craft store. Fill the bottom of a microwave-safe container with one or two inches of silica and place your flowers face up on the silica gel, like shown below. Be sure to cut any foliage, as it will easily shatter if microwaved. Carefully pour more silica gel over the petals. Cover the container, and microwave on high for one or two minutes. Be sure not to put too many flowers in one container. Instead, try microwaving them a few at a time.
Let your flowers cool for a few hours, then brush off any remaining silica gel.
Once dry, arrange your preserved flowers into stunning baskets.
You can create eye-catching centerpieces that your guests will love.
Do you know any other ways to decorate your home with dry flowers? Let us know in the comments!
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[Source: proflowers.com, rd.com]
