Drying Flowers

As a city dweller living in a paved paradise, I crave plants and flowers. My neighborhood’s planter box game is strong so I am not deprived, but I want the beautiful colors around me for longer.

This year I invested in a beautiful flower press to preserve the flowers better. Most of what I have pressed is allocated toward handmade bookmarks for the beta readers who helped me launch Bookplate, and anything remaining will be incorporated into handmade paper.

What I’m drying

I was able to source some lovely fern fronds and hibiscus flowers from my own backyard. I also sourced some beautiful witch hazel from a visit to Laurel Hill. I’m looking forward to drying marigolds next.

Notes

Color is the hard part. Some blooms keep it and some go brown no matter what I do. I have started using thicker cotton pads over larger flowers (versus the smaller and more manageable individual petals). Since each round takes about three weeks to fully dry, this has been a wonderful journey encouraging patience and wonder.