The Rural Voice, 1979-09, Page 48Gardening
Drying flowers can be fun!
Drying flowers offers a year-round
source of decoration for your home.
Arrangements are decorative, versatile,
creative and relatively inexpensive, say
crafts specialists with the Home Economics
Branch, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
and Food.
Two methods of drying flowers are air
drying and silica gel drying. Air drying is
simple and easy, but not suitable for all
flowers. Flowers with little moisture
content such as strawflowers, baby's
breath and statice generally are used.
Remove the foliage from the stems, group
flowers together and hang branches upside
down from a clothesline or beams. For
successful air drying, hang flowers in a
warm, dry space with air circulation, such
as a basement or attic. Damp areas and
bright sunlight should be avoided.
Silica gel allows greater variety in
preserving flowers. This method is more
involved and needs more equipment, but
the results are worthwhile. Silica gel can be
purchased at florist and craft shops and
garden supply stores. It absorbs moisture
from the flowers and air. Silica gel is blue,
but turns color when used. It can be dried
in the oven (121° C) until it changes back to
blue. Equipment for this method includes
cookie tins, large plastic ice cream
containers or any container with a
tight -fitting lid, florist's wire for wiring
stems, green floral tape, white glue, spoon
and soft artist's brush. Flowers should be
dry (free of dew), newly opened and free
from disease. For single flowers with thick
stems, cut off the stem but leave three cm
from the top. Insert a florist's wire through
the stem into such flowers as roses or
carnations. For flowers such as daisies or
pansies, insert the wire through the base to
the centre of the flower, bend the top of the
wire into a small open hook and pull down
into the center.
Once the flowers are wired, pour a 3 by 5
cm layer of gel in your container, place
flowers face up without touching each
PG. 48 THE RURAL VOICE! SEPTEMBER 1979
other and carefully pour the gel around and
over the petals until they are completely
covered. Seal containers with masking
tape, label with date and type of flower and
place in a warm, dry place. Drying time
varies with the density of flowers used.
Since timing is important, a test sample
could be placed in the gel and the length of
time for drying recorded.
Once the flowers are dried, pour off the
silica gel and carefully remove the flowers.
With your artist's brush, remove excess
gel or it will moisten the flower. Now the
stems can be wrapped with floral tape,
ready to use in arrangements.
To maintain the beauty and color of your
arrangements, keep them away from direct
sunlight which could fade the colors.
Humidity in your home can also wilt the
flowers. This summer, when you are
collecting wild flowers or picking flowers
from your garden, consider drying them
and preserving their beauty.