Seeds are very slow to germinate and take 45 days to sprout, so be patient. Just lovely! Yea! Yikes! We made thousands of wreaths, container arrangements, christmas ornaments, and every imaginable thing you could do with drieds. Thank you for all the great info. The vines and pods dry well also. I thought the muted colors were absolutely beautiful as a bridal bouquet. This Spring Im introducing bread seed poppies, sea holly, bunny tail grass, strawflower, love-in-a-mist, yarrow, celosia, silver dollar/money plant, scabiosa sternkugel, Chinese lanterns and craspedia from seeds (some purchased from you). Siris wreaths are indeed magnificent. I love lavender and rosemary it grows and dries so nicely here. PersonallyIve been growing globe thistle and hydrangeas for years and just began drying them again this past fall. They are nice for swags and garlands. Do you put any product on the dry flowers to keep them from breaking or resist time better? This is very inspiring!! Im going to give some of these a try. I have had excellent luck drying dahlias this year! But, like you, Im coming around I think the key is only drying things that look great dried! Many years ago I grew flowers for drying and adored the pleasure they gave in the darker months . Flower heads get bigger over time, so pick when they are the size that you want, but before they go to seed. If you know of a source for artemesia silver king, Id love to have some for wreathes and as a bouquet filler. They have yet to bloom, but they will. But after thinking about it, the crafts werent bad but people just kept them too long. (Sunflowers, zinnias, celosia, pom dahlias, strawflowers, Lisianthus to name some blooms.) Hi Erin Im really trying to do this this year , your hints about when to cut them was winderful ! dust and cobwebs that are impossible to get rid of. Im very offput by dried flowers typically because I always think of them as dust catchers BUT I love the varieties mentioned! They do need replacing every few years, but they are worth every bit of time it takes to preserve, if for nothing more than a reminder all winter of the beauty that is yet to come. Hung them in the dry storage shed and they did well. The herbs and chiles mixed with dried flowers give a great foodie flair to wreath work. to cut them and dry them in a vase (with a small amount of water in the bottom), that way they dont dry all wilted looking if you do them upside down. Maybe the secret lies in when you dry them? I dont think their tacky at all and bring cheer in winter when not much is blooming. I cant wait to dig in with dried flowers because they look great in wreaths and want to do those in the fall and christmas season. Lets see what I can create! If picked too soon, stems will wilt. Im from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and absolutely loved the Linum I grew last year. I especially like making dried flower arrangements so its also great to dry eucalyptus (all varieties) to add to the arrangements. I cant remember the name of the product; we found it at the SF Flower Mart, probably in the 80s/90s. Really enjoy your blogs and look forward to the next. Best to use as you pick and let the wreath base dry before adding flowers. Some of the everlasting flowers that I love that I did not see on you site, but that dry easily are: Statice surrowii ( pink multi- stemmed spikes) Caspia( white to lavender wispy, airy for edges of wreaths), German Statice (white, numerous small white flowers on a stem)- good for filler, Painted Daisies( open papery white and shades of pink). Looking up at all of the dried blooms above your head must have been breathtaking. I adore the concept of keeping flowers available throughout the winter months. . I grow and dry bread seed poppies on the stalk. Pretty incredible. Some of my favorites that you didnt mention are the taka (Japanese) chiles, marigolds, and herbs like sage, thyme, and flowering marjoram. This is the first year I grew them- just put out the seeds after frost and have been watering them when we have a break in the rain for more than 3 days. I have one question on the gomphrena, its the one you never actually gave instruction too. Love the pictures too. Direct seed in late fall or early spring or start seed indoors in trays 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost, and plant out while weather is still cool. But the humidity was so high the flowers would rehydrate and look a mess. This late summer darling thrives in the heat and is hard-working in both the garden and in the vase. I always used to turn up my nose at them because they reminded me of tacky, dated flower books from the late 80s. I like to mix live flowers and dried ones in arrangements, particularly around Thanksgiving. I dries roses,pompom dahlias,zinnias, hydrangea,piony, carnation and a lot of other flowers Huge wreath out of curly willow for the fire place , fun fun , also did a herb & spice wreath for the kitchen , have fun & enjoy , take care , luv Tres . I tried drying some red spike amaranth last fall, but it faded a lot (and dropped a ton of seed all over the place). Looking forward to seeing new tips and tricks! Both need to be picked when mature and stalks begin to stiffen. Never too late to join the party! The flower farm I worked for this season made garlic braids and incorporated dried flowers between each bulb. I hope you are blessed with many more years of success. I have a local greenhouse start my plants. If overly ripe, they will fall apart during the drying process. I even found several birds nest in them that I incorporated in the the wreaths. They are pretty fresh and as they dry, so I get the perfect combo of drying utility and decoration. Informative post! Do you dry them the same way like the other flowers? The man that gave me the seeds he mentioned if I grow them and make sure they stay in a position with bottom flat to soil the grow nicely flat and wide at the bottom. Glyserin is a metode to soften flowers so they will not crack so easily. The eucalyptus is a lovely addition, and Siris wreaths are way beyond the 80s look. Back when we were finishing the winter chapter of the A Year in Flowers, I realized how useful and versatile dried flowers really are.. I just finished reading your beautiful book, Cut Flower Garden, the illustrations are so beautiful, I just loved it and look forward to getting your other books. Thanks! I was shocked to see that happen. I love how designers are using pampas grasses in wedding photo backdrops and I continue to see dried arrangements/wreaths etcfinding their way into the prettiest of wholesale showrooms at the various markets I attend. I air dry the faded flowers. Ive always loved dried flowers! I know you are suppose to pick the hydrangeas when the little middle petiole flowers have come out too. , Iam so excited to try drying my beautiful zinnias, thank you so much for the information. Please note: If you submit a comment and it doesnt show up right away, sit tight; we have a spam filter that requires we approve most comments before they are published. Achillea is a great flower to dry for wreaths and to mix in fresh bunches. Lambs ear spikes, before the actual flower shows any color, are fabulous. I would appreciate knowing, since it is time consuming, but worth doing in order to preserve the everlasting. So loving your down to earth attitude and willingness to share knowledge. I was smiling to myself reading about drying flowers. When we were starting out with drying, we kept things easy and simply hung the harvested bunches upside down in the back of the garage, where it gets really hot and dry in the summer. Seeded eucalyptus and long leaf eucalyptus dry so nicely. If you arent going to use them right away, you can wrap them in tissue or kraft paper and store them away until needed. If you cut it fresh, expect a vase life of 7 days; no preservative needed. Thanks! Ive always dabbled in flowers always obsessed over flowers and this time last year I decided since I had time to start foraging and eventually making wreaths The foraging became a wonderful addiction and I have tons of things many of which I dont even know what they are, if they are interesting I take them home dry them and sometimes paint them I dont have my own gardens I wish I did and Im glad I came across your website there is some great information. Thank you for the information! Freshly harvested flowers can last up to 2 weeks in the vase, and dried flowers look nearly the same as fresh ones. I adore dried flowers in baskets and have done extensive arrangements in baskets in the 80s and I sold them at fairs. I also love working with any silver foliage, so lavender, common sage, dusty miller and artemesia are lovely. Does the lid need to be clear too? This year I grew strawflowers for the first time and the ones we did not use in fresh bouquets I hug to dry along with our extra celosia, statice, gomphrena & nigella. Great post! Those wreaths are beautiful. I live in Western NC as well, in the mountains in Haywood County. Please keep us updated. Maybe I picked them too late, not sure. http://Www.agilegoatflowerfarm.com Weve made everything from arch decor, table arrangements, jewelry, bridal bouquets, etc. They last for years! I love dried flowers and try to dry at least some nigella pods, strawflowers, poppy pods and statice every year. I just let mine dry right on the bush in the fall and then cut them off. Im so glad the dried are coming back with the beautiful updated artistry of today. Your topics are always so on pointthanks for another great post! The limonum colored sepal I dried larkspur last summer, and was amazed at how well they dried. I collected the majority of the flowers and petals from my summer flower pots, garden etc. To dry them, hang freshly cut stems upside down in a warm dark place for 2 to 3 weeks or until they are firm to the touch. I gave two huge boxes of dried goodies to my friend Nina who makes the sweetest little dried wreaths that she sells at craft fairs. As I harvest I either loosely tie then into rings or wrap them over old wire wreath forms or just push them into a bucket. Breadseed poppies do best when direct sown, but slugs love them, so keep an eye out. The dried arrangements were also a great solution for this business, which is always hot (thank you, bread-baking ovens) and has lots of south-facing windows. Thank you. I helped send our daughters through expensive colleges from the proceeds from those sales. Globe Amaranth have adorable, button-like blooms that look great in bouquets. They are gorgeous! Thank you, Dear Erin I love dried grassesespecially bottlebrush and switchgrass. We stopped when we got older because it was a two person operation and there was no local help available. We dont have the dry summers that you do out west. Would you do a short teaching lesson for saving the seeds for the home flower gardener? One bit of advice I can share for straw flowers and amobium, cut and bunch them for drying when they bud is clearly showing color but NOT open and exposing any of the center, because they continue to open once hung to dry. Anyways, thanks for the post- it always excites me to see more people working with dried flowers! Great info! I have always dried the roses that my husband gives me from time to time, both for sentimental reasons and for use. They dont resemble the 80s at all! I have been experimenting with drying different kinds of cut flowers in our small, dark basement where we always have a dehumidifier running during the summer months. Cress is extremely quick to germinate and produces a bumper crop in just 2 months. Blackberry lily is a favorite. I love dried flowersthey are an art in themselves from growing to preserving and to use in arranging wreaths, swags, or other beautiful arrangements. And of course bittersweet. While Ive largely cut down on my blog reading in the past several years, I dont miss any of your content. When fully dry, I clip the stems low and use them in arrangements. Can you detail the process of using silica gel for drying flowers? Again I thank you for your love of flowers! Hopefully this year I can grow and dry flowers for wreaths, dried arrangements and potpourri! I have dried hydrangeas for decorating in my house. I do this for vines as well. I live in WA. I have mixed soft pink, white and red buds. Hanging them upside down will ensure straight, usable stems. I just completed a strawflower wreath, made from Florets strawflowers which I started from seed this past summer. Thanks, I have been growing and drying statice, globes and strawflowers for over 15 years in northeast Ohio. I dried many flowers last year but didnt get the opportunity to use most of them. Thank you to you and your team for sharing your passion! They were so saturated and added such a nice pop to the arrangement. Bottom-water until seedlings emerge, and transplant out after all danger of frost has passed. How long should the flowers dry before you use them or store them away? I often use a combination of fresh and dried in my wedding design! I found the recommended book on Ebay for $ 4.25. I love to dry flowers, that is my very favorite hobby. I like them best when they are hanging from the ceiling of a picturesque barn or garden shed like yours! We had beautiful hostas growing in our yard and I didnt realize that I had created a salad bar for them! They have been a staple for my homestead farm for more than 40 years and sell very well at local roadstands. I want to try my hand at designing a wreath for fall. Rattle Poppy pods are as large as limes! to sell at craft fairs. I think I am moving toward holding workshops. New to flower farming and love the drieds! It was quite an adventure. I am so excited about this! Thanks for this! Or was it the air right container? I want to try drying plants this year. in silica gel and then casts the dried flowers in epoxy resin! A particularly abundant harvest of Coral Fountain amaranthus I grew last year is still hanging around the studio and often gets tucked into our hotel arrangements and photo shoots. How do you dry flowers in this kind of weather. Ill go back to selling dried chinese laterns and money plant bouquets b/c they look stunning and a in high demand but everything else can stay fresh! Many of the flower we consider as dreid flowers like Helipterum roseum, Amobium alatum and Helichrysum bracteatum ( from 1990 named Xerochrysum bracteatum by Australian botanist) constist of more cellulose than other flowers do ,so they are papery and will keep their shape and color when dry. I am a norwegian florist and have grown drid flowers 30 years. Dried flowers and dried flower arrangements are long-lasting but it needs little bit care. I try to harvest when they have started to dry on the shrub, but still retain some color. http://www.bokaystudio.com. Do you have any advise for drying amaryth, sunflowers, or broom corn? Perhaps they will make a come-back. Hope In Bloom is an outreach I started to deliver donated event/funeral flowers to seniors/hospice. Here in Vermont dried flowers, in bunches and wreaths, sell well at the holiday market before Thanksgivingwhen there are no fresh flowers in the landscape and people are looking for things to decorate for the winter season and holidays. Thx!!!. My mom used to dry flower and put some hairspray on them, but it is not very ecological! I grow Flanders field and many other poppy varieties. I live in the Northeast and have lots of lavender and hydrangeas. I love that you have taken something from the past and updated and upgraded the process, and I am so thankful for your high level of craft and content; you are truly inspirational. Youll be glad to have them on hand during the lean winter months. We now offer complete wedding packages made with all dried flowers. Many years ago I went through the dried-flower phase of my gardening experiences. November in the South is a hard time to find the colors you may need for a harvest table, so this solution has served me well through the years. It mixes well with everything and looks fantastic dried. Hi Erin! ? I am adding strawflowers and more globe aramanth in spring garden. Honestly, I felt like you did at firstoh nonot the tacky 80s thing again! Frankly I found myself wondering when the Precious Moments figurines might start popping up in my Pinterest feed! The blue-green macrophylla varieties are also gorgeous, and easy to dry. Everything! Ive been loving the beautiful dried flower wreaths and arrangements on IG many Japanese crafters are making and wanted to try my hand at it. I only grow flowers for drying but I would love to have more success with celosia, maybe its the British climate. Thank you from Ostrander,Ohio. I started quite late this year (my first here) but was encouraged when you talked about secession planting guessing I could get at least two maybe three here even though I started late. What got me going on the dried flower bandwagon in the first place was my flower friend, Shes hinted at teaching a few workshops, and Im planning to be the first person to sign up.. Dried scraps are used for paper-making. I ask because you mentioned you store in Rubbermaid bins which I assume have a lid and is airtight. As always gorgeous flowers Erin and thanks so much for sharing.