Growing Wise : dried flowers

Rose of Sharon Pods

Elisabeth — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:51:00 GMT

Cold winds still blow across my garden. We are having an unseasonably chilly spring, but the increased light has made me want to be outside anyway. The big yard clean-up has begun and with it the annual renewal of the garden. Part of this ritual involves strategically placed pots of pansies and primroses that provide color until the daffodils and other showy bloomers open up.

Like everyone I am cutting back a bit and that means the number of flats of pansies and primroses is less than last year. However, I still want the same number of bountiful pots, so this year I tried something new. In some of the bigger pots I used straight, twelve inch-tall rose of Sharon branches, with their flower-like dried seedpods still attached, massed in the middle of the pot. The branches, which had to be clipped off the shrubs as part of the clean-up, were "planted" in the potting soil. I surrounded the central rose of Sharon display with a collar of colorful purple and yellow pansies. The result was wonderful. The seedpods look like five-petaled flowers and they are a nice shade of golden brown. Later, I will replace them with other tall plants and probably substitute coleus for the pansies.

But right now, I have been rescued by a plant that I used to disdain--rose of Sharon. Now, not only do I love it for the beautiful late summer flowers, but I see the artistic possibilities of the seedpods.

Strawflowers

Elisabeth — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:43:00 GMT

At the end of winter every year I look around me and think how nice it would have been if I had thought to grow more everlastings in my garden. "Everlastings", for those unfamiliar with the term, are plants whose flowers or foliage look good when dried. I think the best of the everlastings is annual strawflower (Helichrysum brachteata).

Strawflower, which blooms in the summer, has blossoms that look a bit like chrysanthemums. They are easily started from seed and often available in mixed-color assortments or in combination with other seeds of everlasting varieties. Most of the seed assortments contain seeds for cream, pink, red, yellow, near purple and russet-colored flowers.

Once the flowers bloom, pick them, tie them in a bundle and hang them in a dark, airy place. I use my garage for this purpose and hang the stems from an old piece of trellis. Depending on temperature and humidity, the strawflowers will dry in two to three weeks. Keep them protected and out of direct light, and they will be ready to use in midwinter arrangements indoors.

Part of the joy of winter is enjoying the harvest from the previous growing season. Strawflower can be a part of that harvest.

Dried Flowers

Elisabeth — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:52:00 GMT

I don't grow flowers specifically for drying, but I do dry several varieties that I grow for their good looks. Right now I am in the process of cutting flowers and drying them for next fall and winter's arrangements and decorations.

In my garden, the self-sown nigella are blooming at the moment. Within a week or so the flowers will be gone, leaving the striped, balloon-like seed pods. I cut most of them (leaving a few to self-seed) and hang them upside down from an old trellis in my garage. Oriental poppy seed pods, with their star-shaped topknots, are already there.

Yarrow (Achillea) are some of the best summer flowers, and they have popped into bloom recently, spurred on by a blast of hot weather. I grow bright yellow and dusty pink varieties, and both make excellent dried specimens. I find the color keeps better if you cut them when they are fresh and hang them upside down in a cool, dark place with good air circulation.

Lavender is blooming now as well. I harvest scores of flower stalks and arrange them in vases. They dry with no other help. Some of my dried lavender goes into the dresser drawers to sweeten up the sweaters and underwear. I save the rest for arrangements.

The hydrangeas are just beginning to form flowerheads. I love them so much that I grow several varieties: classic mopheads (Hydrangea macrophylla), "peegees" (Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora) and oak-leaf (Hydrangea quercifolia). All make excellent dried subjects. The trick is to harvest them just as the flowers are beginning to dry out on their own. If you cut hydrangea too soon, the flowers shrivel; if you cut them too late, they begin to brown. Usually my hydrangeas are ready for drying in late summer. They join the other dried specimens hanging upside down in the garage.

All of the flowers described above reward you twice--now, when you can enjoy the fresh blooms and next winter, when you will be grateful for their dried beauty.