One of the many things i love about flowers is that you can make use of most parts even once they have stopped looking their best. I've always loved flowers, loved receiving them as a gift, love buying them from the local florists and love exploring botanical / open gardens. I'm not sure when my slight obsession started but it seems to have passed on to my son Finley too.
One of the things i learnt from my lovely Nanna is flower pressing. She taught me how to carefully take the petals from a rose and dry them in book pages. Though i do sometimes use books i prefer to use presses, I am always on the search for more flower presses now so i can press lots of flowers at a time, they take over a week to properly press and dry so having more than one press is an advantage!When my flower presses are full i don't let the flowers got to waste, instead i dry the petals and leaves naturally and make use of them in different ways (i'll explain more about this in a future blog post)
Top tips for naturally drying petals / leaves:
- place them on kitchen towel in a cool dry area
- once dried keep contained in a air tight jar until ready to use
Top tips for flower pressing:
- use an old book and place petals / leaves carefully inside the different pages, do not place them too close to one and other and do not overfill the book. Place a heavy object on top and leave for a couple of weeks, check to see if dry - if not replace the brick and leave for another week until you are happy that they are dry.
- If you have access to a flower press these are even better, spread out your petals and leaves evenly in the layers being sure not to place them too close to each other. Place on the lid and tighten the press in all four corners. Leave for a couple of weeks and then check your petals / leaves. If ready remove and place in an air tight container, if not ready replace the lid, tighten and wait another week or so.
I can't wait to have a designated botanical studio to keep everything in, i'm so excited to be able to share my love of flowers with you and all my different arty ideas. I'll keep you updated with the studio & garden progress here on my blog, on instagram and facebook.
Starter Flower Press: I recommend this flower press if you are just starting out (a bargain at just £6.71)
Giant Flower Press: I recommend this flower press if you are looking for one with plenty of room
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