Drying & Preserving Flowers

The gardens of Lawrence are a bounty of colors and scents and everywhere you turn some magnificent bloom is smiling at the warm sun, flirting with our senses and beckoning us to bend over and take a closer look.  It is fleeting however, just as the lilies are putting on a spectacular show right now the peonies that linger in our memories are just that, a memory.  It is possible, however, to keep our flora prominently displayed all year long.  Even when the dreary days of January are keeping our green thumbs concealed under mittens the reminder of summers past and yet to come can be scattered throughout the house if we exercise some forethought and dry them now while they are at their freshest.  

“Thank you for discussing this now.”  States Karen Pendleton, owner of Pendleton’s Country Market.  “Usually I get calls asking about drying in September or October and at that time it is too late to harvest most plants.  Now is the time to be harvesting so you have something to arrange with later on.” 

Drying flowers and foliage from the garden is a centuries-old tradition to preserve summers fantastic flower displays.  It is an innovative way to keep flowers in the home all year long.  Whether displayed in a vase arrangement or if you choose to get more elaborate and try your hand at creating swags, wreaths, baskets full of blooms, sconces, gifts, whatever the final result, having a bundle of flowers from your own garden all year long can prove to be quite rewarding.

Kathy Hagen, Owner of Prairie Flowers, began gardening as a young girl when her mother would have to move the family from Kansas town to Kansas town as the little country schools she taught in would close and the family would move on to the next school.  Hagen says, “We would plant gardens at each new school.  Now when I go back to visit I find the schools are crumbling and in ruins but the irises and the peonies that we planted are thriving.” 

Hagen dries many of the flowers that she collects from her massive garden and makes unique creations, which she will sell at the Farmer’s Market when the land is no longer producing prolific blooms and her fresh flowers are depleting.  Many of the plants that are rooted in her land and whose blooms grace many of our homes after a Saturday morning romp at the Farmer’s Market are courtesy of her mother.  Hagen say’s, “Forty-six years ago when we bought our land my mother noticed that this great old neighborhood was being razed to make way for the post office that stands there today.  But in the wake of the bulldozers all of these marvelous flowers were going to be discarded along with the brick and mortar.  She dug up those plants and many of them I still have and either sell them fresh or I dry the blooms.”

Kathy Hagen dries all of her flowers and foliage in her workshop by air-drying them.  Karen Pendleton uses more varied methods for drying, she explains, “We use air drying for roses, peonies, larkspur, yarrow, pepper and more.  We practice silica drying for the sunflowers, zinnias, Rudbeckia and similar flowers and glycerin preserving for mostly leaves, foliage like cedar, pine, sweet Annie, Solidago, dock, liatris and so on.”

Drying is really quite easy with a few techniques that work well.  Although, there are some basic words of wisdom to insure the best outcome, for instance, flowers with rigid stems tend to work best.  Some of these sturdy flowers are known as “everlastings” which include, statice, money plant (Lunaria annua), sea holly (Eryngium) and yarrow (Achillea).  Flowers with large flat petals like lilies and poppies generally do not dry well.  Multiple petaled flowers like Marigolds and roses dry well.  Many culinary herbs also dry spectacularly and add a delightful aromatic touch like mints, sages and sweet marjoram.  Keep in mind that the best time to harvest is in the late afternoon on a hot, dry day when the flower contains the least amount of moisture.  Your dried blooms are best kept out of direct sunlight as this may fade the colors.

Drying Methods

Air Drying:  This is the easiest method.  Simply remove most of the leaves from the stem and put 4 to 8 stems of the same flower together, secure with a rubber band and hang upside down.  Dark locations with a good air flow work best.  Flowers should be dried in a few days.  (Hint, spraying them with hairspray can keep the flower more intact.)

Desiccant Drying:  Daisies, zinnias, and Redbeckia all lose their shape when they are air dried so the desiccant method is best for these blooms.  Use a shallow container and sprinkle 1 inch of either silica gel (which is sold in craft stores), sand, cornmeal or a fine kitty litter.  Use a plastic or metal container with a tight fitting lid for silica gel.  You may use an open cardboard or shoe box for the other materials.  Set the flower face down with the stem completely cut off onto the desiccant material then sprinkle a layer of the desiccant on top of the flower covering it completely.  Wait anywhere from 3 to 7 days and then carefully brush off the grainy substance.

Glycerin Drying:  This technique keeps the greenery soft and supple and is best for foliage, grasses, solidago and so on.  For flowers that need a hard stem like roses it is best to use one of the above methods.  Karen Pendleton shares her recipe for Glycerin drying:

·        1 gallon of glycerin (do not use antifreeze it is poisonous to pets)

·        5 gallons of warm water

·        2 drops of cheap dish detergent (do not use Dawn or de-greasers)

·        ¼ cup vinegar

·        2 Tablespoons of powdered vegetable dye

Mix the ingredients and fill vases with about 3 inches of solution.  Harvest your plants and put them directly in the solution.  It should take 1 to 5 days for the plant to take up the solution.  After the plant has absorbed the mixture, hang them upside down to dry the last of any water remaining in the plant.  This method keeps foliage in particular looking very fresh.

The only advice on drying flowers Kathy Hagen suggests is, “Keep your creativity and artistic juices flowing.  People have more ideas than they give themselves credit for, if you like something that you are creating than you are doing it right.”  If you are looking for a bit more hands-on direction than check out one of the workshops that Pendleton’s Country Market will be hosting this fall on wreath-making, dried flower arrangements, Christmas ornaments, table top Christmas trees and swag making.  The Pendleton’s also will lecture to civic groups, extension members, garden clubs and the like on drying and preserving flowers. 

This winter when all you can do is read about gardening and take exotic vacations to get a green fix.  Think of planning ahead now to pepper your home with nature’s bounty all year long and squelch those winter doldrums. 

Some Good Plants for Drying

Annual Statice

Baby’s Breath

Beebalm

Bells of Ireland

Cockscomb

Delphiniums

Feverfew

German Statice

Gomphrena

Globe thistles

Grasses

Money Plant

Ivy Foliage

Lady’s mantle

Lamb’s Ear foliage

Larkspur

Lavenders

Lilacs

Love-in-a-mist seed pods

Lotus pods

Oats

Okra pods

Ornamental onions

Peonies

Ranunculus

Roses

Sages

Solidago

Sunflowers

Yarrows