Dried Flowers
Dried flower arrangements is an excellent way to keep flower arrangements longer. There is a process to get dried flower arrangements. First, is to actually grow the flowers.
Growing dried flowers
First, is to make sure a person has the right kinds of flowers. Either annuals or perennials may be used. There are some flowers that are not the best for drying. According to NDSU ext. site, dried flowers should have these qualities: "high value, high production per square foot of bed, extended production and marketing season, long productive life, ability to be marketed as fresh and surplus sold as dried florals, vase life of at least seven days, resistance to disease and pests, resistance to heat and drought, long stems (18 inches), relatively easy to harvest and handle, and have an aesthetically pleasing look and fragrant flowers, foliage or stems". One must keep in mind that there is no perfect flower that has all of these critera, but one should at least keep some of these items in mind when thinking of drying flowers. For the actuall growing part of drieds, the garden should have full sun, and it should be rid of weeds. Also, proper draining is required. Plants should be planted, watered, and weeded, and pretty soon a beautiful garden will emerge.
Harversting Dried Flowers
Harvesting the dried flowers is hard work. Homestore.com suggests to harvest the flowers in the morning because the dew has just dried and the flowers don't have a high moisture content. One thing to remember, is to make sure a person has more flowers than actually needed. After harvesting, the next step is to actually dry the flowers.
Drying the Flowers
Drying the flowers is a rather easy process. Three ways that flowers can be dried are by air drying, pressing, and burying. Air drying is done simply by haning the flower upside down in a dark, room (make sure not to have any humidity). Some of the flowers that are best dried by air drying are larkspur, statice, and strawflowers. Pressing is done by sandwiching the flowers inbetween layers of absorbant material. It is best if the material is clean for this process. Some of the flowers that are dried the best by pressing are pansies, geraniums, and daisies. For the burying process, a drying agent must be used. One of the several agents is silica gel. The flowers must be placed in an air-tight container when using silica gel. Also, for burying the stems must be wired. Once they are wired, place some of the silica gel on the bottom of the container, then place the flowers in the container. Sift some of the silica gel over the petals, and make sure that the petals stay in place while sifting. Some examples of flowers that dry best by burying are baby's breath, lilac, and zinnias.
Uses of Dried Flowers
Once the flowers are dry, there are endless possiblities for the uses of dried flowers. They could be used in arrangements, bouquets, or to make potporri. The choice is all up to the beholder.
Resources
These were the sites that I found useful when creating this :North Dakota Extension Service
Created by Cayla Brosz. Questions or comments can be sent to Cayla Brosz.