Drying flowers and pressing flowers is a hobby that can become addictive. You can preserve a part of spring and summer to enjoy during the dreary winter months. Many projects and gifts can be created from a dried flower or pressed flowers and the craft can also become a productive business. I combined my love of nature and crafting into a business that supported my family for many years.

Several methods can be used to dry flowers. For all methods use flowers freshly picked on a bright, sunny morning after dew has evaporated.

The Air-dry method is one of the easiest and works well with flowers like status and lavender.

Pick flowers with stems in the morning, after the dew has dried. Choose flowers with half opened blossoms.

**Strip lower leaves, but leave upper leaves on the stem.

**Tie 8-10 stems with string or rubber bands and hang the bundle upside down in a dark well-ventilated, warm area. A shed, barn, attic, garage, or large closet can be used. Leave air space between bundles.

**It will take 2 or 3 weeks for the flowers to dry, depending on the type of flowers. Flowers are ready when the stems snap off easily. The dried flowers can then be used in arrangements.

Some flowers dry better with a slightly different approach.

**Instead of hanging baby’s breath, Chinese lanterns, globe thistles, or poppy seed heads, place them right side up in a wide mouth jar or vase until dry.

**Place yarrows, ageratums, hydrangeas, alliums, and heather right side up in a container with ½ inch of water in the bottom. The water will evaporate as the plants dry.

**Use ¼ inch hardware cloth for Queen Anne’s lace, dill, fennel, and edelweiss. Put stems through the holes, so the stems hang loosely below and the heavy heads rest on the cloth.

For roses, zinnias, and dahlias, try this method. Again, use freshly picked, dry flower heads.

**Line a box with silica gel (you can get this a craft store), borax, or fine, dry sand.

**Lay flowers face down in the box. Carefully sift the medium you are using over the flowers until covered.

**Place the box in a warm dry area for several weeks.

This works well for bright, colorful spring flowers like pansies, violets, and buttercups. Use a microwave safe glass dish with a lid that you will not be using for cooking food.  This is a method may use for drief flower arrangements.

**Pick flowers with short stems, 1 inch or less.

**Spread silica gel 1 to 1 ½ inches on the bottom of the container.

**Lay the flowers face up on the silica jel.

**Carefully cover the flowers completely with more silica jel.  Cover the dish with the lid and place in the microwave oven. Place one cup of water behind the dish.

**You will have to experiment with the time to microwave. Use a medium setting and check every 30 to 45 seconds.

**After drying, leave the flowers undisturbed for 6-24 hours. Flowers can then be removed and sprayed with acrylic spray or hair spray if desired.

Dust free cat litter can be used for microwave drying instead of silica jel. Follow the same directions as for silica jel, but do not use the cup of water.

I supported my family for several years by selling pressed flower crafts. Most of what I know, I learned by trial and error. When I started, I thought, “You just put some flowers in a book and put another heavy book on top of it and leave it for a few days.” I learned that there is a little more to it than that, though it is not a difficult craft to learn.

Collecting flowers

**Choose a warm, sunny day and wait until the dew has dried—mid morning is good. Don’t use really thin petal flowers or thick petal flowers. The quicker you can press the flowers after picking, the better the color retention after drying.

**I take old paperback books with me to the garden or field. As I pick, I place several flowers per page, starting at the back and leave 10 to 15 pages between each page I fill.

**When the book is filled, I secure it with a rubber band and start on another book.

**As soon as I get home, I immediately transfer the blossoms into my “press”.

**With some flowers, like buttercups, I pick a bouquet with long stems and put them in a jar of water. I then pick the blossoms as I place them into my “press”. 

**As you pick, be sure to include leaves with your blooms.

Pressing

Old Phone Books: This is what I used for most of my flowers.

**Transfer flowers from paper back books to a phone book, starting in the back and leaving 10 to 15 pages between flower filled pages.

**Not necessary, but helpful, sprinkle a little powdered borax on each page as you carefully place flowers. Slightly press the flower and stem in desired shape. Curved stems are more artistic than straight stems. You can’t shape them after they are dry.

**Work quickly until all flowers are placed. Then place the phone book in a dry warm area with good circulation. Weight it down with more heavy books or steal weights and leave for several weeks.

To test for dryness, take several blossoms out and lay on a sheet of paper. If the edges start to curl after 10 to 15 minutes, the drying process isn’t complete.

Blotting Paper: I found this at an artists supply store.

**Use blotting paper that has not been chemically treated.

**Sandwich the flowers between two sheets (I also sprinkle a little borax on these).

**Stack the sandwiched sheets and top with weights or heavy books as the phone book method.

Commercial flower presses are available.

Some flowers retain their color better than others. Mostly you learn this by trial and error. I have had good results with buttercups, hardy fucias, fireweed, violets, spring beauties, and field daisies.