Dried Flowers-Back From the Dead

A major interior design trend that has crept up on us during COVID, all over Instagram Feeds and weddings, in hotels and restaurants, is ….. drum roll please…… dried flowers. Especially in the fall with winter approaching, dried grasses and wildflowers are making a comeback. A recent trip to destination nursery extraordinaire Terrain drove home this point. Their dried flower display was over the top. When I visited a few weeks later, everything was gone!

According to Etsy, there’s been a 93% increase in searches for dried flowers in just the last six months. Impressive.  Kind of like old fashioned knitting, growing and drying flowers has come back with a vengeance.

Check out this video on the Winterthur Flower Tree. They start in the spring with the first spring blooms and dry flowers throughout the year to decorate the  magnificent Yuletide tree. And that isn’t all you can do with dried flowers. One of the most popular category that people can enter at the Philadelphia Flower Show is the pressed flower pictures. Check out this pressed flower entry at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Search on your Instagram feed, and you will see tons of dried, wispy pampas grasses, bunny tails, lavender, and cockscomb. Think about it…… They are low maintenance and eco-friendly and last longer than fresh cuts. Plus, they bring in a whole range of color options, like pastels and textures that we are craving in the winter season. Just check out Olga Prinku’s dried floral wreaths and also dried botanicals pressed between pieces of glass.

After each growing season in my garden, I assess what I grew, making up a wish list of new things to grow for next year. Planning what new varieties to try is half the fun of gardening! But this time I am going back to growing some old varieties that have fallen out of fashion that I haven’t grown for years, and these include everlastings or dried flowers.

Air drying flowers or everlastings is simple and a great way to preserve your flower harvest for months to come. Knowing the correct varieties that dry well is key to successfully drying your blooms. I have dried flowers on and off for years. In vogue in the 70’s and 80’s, and I have noticed a resurgence of interest, but people aren’t sure about which flowers are suitable.

After a recent visit to Priorwood Garden in Scotland which is known for their dried flower culture and gardens, I was inspired to try this old craft again. Priorwood is a specialist center for the craft of dried flower arranging and has a dedicated drying room.

A delightful historic walled garden in the Scottish Borders in Melrose, Priorwood is a rustic walled garden where the plants grown are selected for their suitability for drying.  Maintained by the National Trust for Scotland, Priorwood is a delight to visit to learn about drying varieties and methods.

Brimming with old-fashioned flowers such as Strawflowers, Teasels, Cardoon, Ammobium, Statice, Love in a Mist, Pearly Everlasting, and Yarrow, I walked the pathways identifying the ones that I recognized and noticing the ones that I needed to ask about .

Steps to Perfect Dried Flowers

1. Choose flowers that are not completely open as they will continue to open through the drying process.
2. Cut flowers in the morning, after the dew has dried using sharp sheers.
3. Strip off all foliage.
4. Group flowers into small bundles and gather together with rubber bands. This allows the rubber band to contract and not lose its grip as the stems shrink.
5. Hang upside down in a cool, dark, dry, indoor spot where air can circulate.
6. When flowers are done drying, they will feel dry and stiff to the touch. This may take several days or several weeks, depending on conditions and the type of flowers.

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   Everlastings to grow for drying

   • Sea Holly(Eryngium ) – perennial
   • Winged Everlasting (Ammobium alatum) – annual
   • Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi) – perennial (seed pods)
   • Artemesia ( Sweet Annie and the grey leaved varieties)- annual & perennial
   • Hydrangea- perennial
   • Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila paniculata) – annual or perennial
   • Sweet Annie (Artemesia annua) – perennial
   • Cockscomb (Celosia cristata) – annual
   • Bells-Of-Ireland (Moluccella laevis) – annual
   • Love in a Mist (Nigella damascena) – annual (primarily the seed pods)
   • Money Plant or Honesty (Lunaria annua) – biennial
   • Yarrow(Achillea spp.) – perennial
   • Strawflowers (Helichrysum bracteatum) – annual
   • Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) – annual
   • Statice(Limonium spp.) – perennial and annual
   • Bachelor’s Buttons or Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) – annual
   • Lavender (Lavandula spp.) – perennial
   • Roses (Rosa spp.) – perennial/shrub, flowers and hips (fruit)
   • Peony-perennial
   • Tansy-perennial

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