How to dry chamomile flowers
Drying flowers – Chamomile
Growing chamomile flowers at home
This summer I accidentally grew some chamomile in my garden, and chamomile flowers have been a bit of a theme on my blog for the last couple of months. But it has just occurred to me that I haven’t yet discussed drying this herb.
Chamomile flower with bug
First pick the flowers
These flowers grew really easily from seed! I picked each flower when the yellow centre had developed a good dome shape. I collected as little stem and foliage as possible, because I noticed that this part of the chamomile plant had very little fragrance.
Tip – I noticed that if I waited too long before picking, leaving the white petals to discolour or fall off, the useful yellow part would just disintegrate.
Harvested chamomile heads laid out on a tray ready to dry
Lay the chamomile out to dry
I laid the flowers out in a single layer on a tray to dry, and put them in my airing cupboard for a week or so (if you don’t have an airing cupboard, try these suggestions).
Drying chamomile in my airing cupboard. Also visible are roses, marigold petals and sweet herb leaves.
Simple as that!
I harvested the blooms over a period of about six weeks, and when the herb had finished flowering, I pulled the plants up to make way for other crops.
Using the dried flowers
Homemade chamomile tea in its caddy
I have been using my homemade dried chamomile as tea, using a heaped dessertspoon for a large mug, and steeping for about 5 mins.
Other uses might be:- in a bag as a soothing alternative to lavender, or sprinkled in a warm bath for a relaxing aromatherapy treat.
Or try using the chamomile flowers as a hair rinse.
Related links – More drinks: try lavender tea or lavender hot chocolate
– Buy dried chamomile flowers (commercially produced for aromatherapy but not tea)
