Flower presses, posies and petals
During lockdown over the summer I avoided social media because I was finding it a bit much. But I’ve been busy in my workshop and garden!
![garden august 2020](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/garden-august-2020-1024x768.jpg)
Sussex garden
![cheerful daisy flower](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/garden-daisies-1024x365.jpg)
I’ve been getting back on top of my garden, which had been neglected due to work and kids. One of the first things I did was prune hard my Rosa mundi, meaning I had no flowers to dry this year. I did pick a few sprigs of The Fairy, a tiny pale pink rose which blooms in clusters. Not sure what I’m going to do with them yet!
![dried fairy roses garden](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/dried-roses-garden-1024x683.jpg)
Pressing flowers – dried and fresh
My long-standing pressed flower suppliers for daisyshop.co.uk have now retired, so I’ve been experimenting with pressing flowers from my own garden to sell. I also realised that certain dried flowers such as lavender and sea lavender, and some grasses can be pressed if dampened first.
![viola salvia flower press](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/viola-salvia-flower-press-1024x768.jpg)
![pressed sea lavender](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/pressed-sea-lavender-1024x768.jpg)
Pressed flowers from our shop were on TV in the Netflix drama Enola Holmes starring Millie Bobby Brown this summer.
![enola holmes pressed delphinium flowers](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/enola-holmes-pressed-delphinium-flowers-1024x664.jpg)
Potpourri making in print
I have been making potpourri from my garden as usual this summer, and was excited to be interviewed for Flora magazine about potpourri – apparently it’s big business these days!
![flora mag autumn 2020](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/flora-mag-autumn-2020-732x1024.jpg)
In the workshop
In my dried flowers workshop I have been hanging up cottage garden blooms to dry and photographing interesting seed heads and petals.
![drying sweet williams cornflowers](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/drying-sweet-williams-cornflowers-1024x768.jpg)
The sweet williams didn’t make attractive bunches once dry but I think I will be able to use the flower heads alone for potpourri making. The cornflowers I have tried before. I absolutely love the intense blue colour but I can’t justify selling them because they feel so light and brittle to handle and are rather droppy.
![rose petal heart](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/rose-petal-heart-1024x849.jpg)
![dry rose buds flower petals](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/dry-rose-buds-flower-petals-1024x768.jpg)
![ammi seed head](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ammi-seed-head-761x1024.jpg)
Making dry posies
In the workshop I sometimes get left with some loose stems of dried flowers. I love to grab a handful to make a little posy.
![blue white posy for pressing](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/blue-white-posy-for-pressing-768x1024.jpg)
![workshop dried flower posy](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/workshop-dried-flower-posy-768x1024.jpg)
![workshop flower bits](https://driedflowercraft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/workshop-flower-bits-768x1024.jpg)
Read more about my garden and the flowers I like to grow
Find out more about pressing flowers
Update 2022 – Pressed flower successes