Cosmos flowers are so cheery well into October

I couldn’t resist picking a few of the last flowers of the summer to preserve. Cosmos flowers are so simple and daisy-like, I can never resist growing them in my garden.

cosmos flowers ready to dry — The cut cosmos flowers laid out on kitchen roll

I placed the cosmos flowers flat (without their stems) in the airing cupboard for a week. The dried flowers were soon preserved for use over the winter.

Comparing the dried flowers

white dried cosmos flowers — White cosmos flowers dry to palest cream

pink dried cosmos flowers — Cosmos flowers shrink on drying

cosmos dried — The yellow daisy like centres of the dried cosmos flowers

Using the dried flowers

I was very pleased with the results, and have used the dried cosmos flowers as a potpourri topper: they are decorating some potpourri I made a few weeks ago with rose and geranium dried flowers.