Preserving posies

Our gourmet gardener Tara Kate Linnane is getting creative with posies this week...

Tucked away in the leaf of an old book, delicately arranged memories in the form of pressed lowers can be a delight to unexpectedly come across. A day out foraging, picnicking in a meadow or a walk to remember, these moments can be captured and saved forever when mementos are preserved and displayed.

I was recently flicking through a book when I found a page of dried pressed wildflowers. I had forgotten about the little treasures I collected on my walks last year, as the hedgerows changed from spring to summer offering new colours and textures to draw my interest.

Finding this inspired me to share a few ways of preserving posies.

The old age-old charm of drying flowers is something many of us have experienced at some stage in our lives. It can make a lovely crafty gift for a friend or loved one. Especially if the botanical items have meaning.

Pressing flowers in old books is still a useful method for preserving flowers. It seems old-fashioned, but that’s part of the appeal.

It is best to use a large heavy book, and either tie a strap or belt around it while pressing your flowers or add weight to the top.

As the print may transfer in some books, it can be a good idea to sandwich the flowers between sheets of paper, for example, watercolour paper before hiding them inside the book.

The drying process will take about 30 days. If you open to have a look before the items are fully dried, you may risk breaking or cracking them. After 30 days you should be left with beautifully pressed flowers ready to use on cards or in a frame.

Spacing is important as you will want to avoid overlapping petals or leaves. To make the most of the page you can arrange the stems and heads to fill in white spaces. When pressing flowers, you may lose some of the colour vibrancy. However, I feel this adds to the vintage charm of the craft.

Press-dried flowers can be delicate to handle so once dry, carefully loosen them from the sheet and transfer to somewhere flat to store. A flower press can also be used in place of the books. The same timeframe applies.

Pressed posies can be useful for crafting, but air drying blooms allows you to enjoy dried bunches of decorative flowers throughout winter.

When air drying flowers you want to avoid flowers with a high water content. They tend to hold moisture and rot long before they ever dry out. Flowers such as Marigolds, Cornflowers, Hydrangeas, Lavender and Love in a mist, are suitable for this method of preservation.

Begin by gathering your chosen flowers by the stem and hang them upside down in a cool, dark, dry environment. Sunlight levels will affect the ultimate colour. To retain as much of the pigment as possible, avoid sunlight.

Leave flowers for a few weeks to dry. You will notice the colours begin to soften and mature. Bright, vibrant reds and pinks will settle to tones of ochre and umber, dusty pink and dull yellow, eventually transforming into vintage bouquets. When the stems can snap easily, they are finished drying. Dried flowers, for example hydrangeas, can be used to create wreaths or even centrepieces for a table.

There may not be much to pick and preserve at the minute but in the weeks to come keep an eye out for the first signs of spring, and you too can have pages full of surprises to find when you least expect.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tara Kate Linnane is passionate about sustainability and growing all things edible. Together with her husband Barry, she has embarked on a journey of designing edible spaces and getting others started on their gardening adventures.

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