There are several ways to preserve a fresh flower bouquet
If you receive a fresh bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s Day this year, why not hang it up to dry or press it once you’ve enjoyed it for a few days? A dried bouquet can last months and is a great way to preserve a memory. The pics here are just of roses, but some other flowers that dry or press well include lavender, ranunculus (a large spring relation of the buttercup), eucalyptus, fern and gypsophila.
Pressing flowers from a bouquet
- The key is to separate the bunch into separate stems.
- Don’t press anything that looks past it as it won’t improve in the press!
- If any of the flower heads look too fat to flatten, separate them into smaller pieces. For example with these red roses you could remove the petals.
- Don’t forget to press some leaves too for variety.
- You can reassemble the bouquet afterwards in two dimensions in a frame!
- See full details on how to press flowers
Hanging up to dry
- If you’re thinking of drying a particularly precious bouquet, ask a professional to do it, to be on the safe side!
- Otherwise, separate the flowers into bundles of five stems or less for best air circulation.
- Tie each bundle with an elastic band and hang upside down above a radiator for about a week.
- Different flowers take longer to dry and some won’t work at all, so check them regularly and be open to binning a few stems. For example, I don’t think its possible to dry lilies by hanging.
- See full details on how to dry flowers
Make petal confetti
- Strip the petals or small flower heads from the stems
- Lay them out in a single layer somewhere warm and dry for example on a radiator shelf
- Leave for a few days or until crisp
- Store in an airtight container until needed
- Whole heads make a lovely memento, or use the petals for an upcoming wedding, to dress a table or bed for a romantic evening, or make potpourri
- See full details on how to make confetti
Make that moment last :)
See my previous post about an alternative bouquet
See more shopping ideas for your Valentine