Make dried flowers yourself
These plants are particularly good
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Making dried flowers yourself is very easy. GALA tells you which flowers and grasses are best suited and how you should proceed when drying.
Far from being old-fashioned and dusty: dried flowers are back from the 80s and are now a trend living trend. No wonder, because pampas grass and co. are not only a stylish decoration, but also score points in terms of sustainability. Once the plants have dried properly, they last almost forever.
Regardless of whether you want to preserve a memory with a dried bouquet or just one nice deco want to create for your living area: dried flowers are very easy to make yourself. GALA shows you how this works best.
Which flowers are suitable for drying?
In principle, you can dry all flowers and grasses. The drying time and the result will vary depending on the plant. Specimens that contain less moisture and a soft stem own, are already dry after a few days. They also don’t disintegrate as quickly when dried. The following plants are particularly suitable and are popular classics in every dried bouquet:
- star umbels
- gypsophila
- everlasting flowers
- hydrangeas
- star scabious
- lavender
- yarrow
- mimosa
- pampas grass
Varieties with a solid stem need a longer time to dry. Sometimes you have to be patient for up to two weeks. It’s worth the wait, because dried roses, blue thistles or colorful straw flowers in particular are eye-catchers in every bouquet of dried flowers. Eucalyptus branches are also a great eye-catcher with their silver-green leaves. Be sure to try out different plants and combine your DIY dry bouquet as you wish.
Instructions: Make dried flowers yourself
To dry flowers you will need a branch or wooden stick, twine or gardener’s bast and of course cut flowers of your choice. To get a nice result, you should do the following:
- Step 1: Remove the leaves and thorns on the lower third of the stems to show off the flower better.
- Step 2: Cut the flowers at an angle and put them in for a few hours fresh water. So they can soak up water again and get better stability later.
- Step 3: Take the flowers out of the water and tie them into small bundles of the same variety. You attach these to the branch so that the small bouquets with the flowers down dangling This way they stay in their original shape after drying.
- Step 4: Hang the branch on a warm and dry place on. Tip: The flowers should not be exposed to direct sunlight during the drying process, as this will bleach the color of the flowers.
- Step 5: Depending on the variety, you can “harvest” your dried flowers after a few days or weeks. To make delicate dried flowers last longer, you can use them with something hairspray fix and then combine them into decorative dried bouquets, flower arrangements or bouquets.
Tip: Dry yours in the same way, for example bridal bouquet or individual flowers from it to keep as a souvenir. Alternatively, you can press individual flowers out of the bouquet. You can find out how to do this below.
DIY: Tie a bouquet of dried flowers
When tying your bouquet of dried flowers, you can creativity give free rein and put together what you like. If you still have no idea how to arrange your bouquet, you can use the following tips to achieve a beautiful result:
- Choose one or more flowers than central eye-catcher for your bouquet. For this you should choose flowers with large and magnificent flowers. Roses or hydrangeas, for example, are good. The exotic protea plant also looks great as a focal point of the bouquet.
- Add another variety to the flowers in the center flowers or grass such as pampas grass or wheat grass. This is how you create a varied base for your bouquet of dried flowers.
- Finally, drape accompanying flowers around the bouquet. More inconspicuous flowers with smaller blossoms or stems with leaves are suitable here. A good choice are, for example, gypsophila, eucalyptus or small, colorful straw flowers.
- Now you can decorate your finished bouquet with a ribbon fix and present it as a decoration in a matching vase.
DIY: tying a wall wreath
Not only beautiful bouquets can be tied with dried flowers, but also great ones wall wreaths produce. Whether as a decoration for your own four walls or for a wedding or celebration – a self-made wall wreath made of flowers is always a beautiful eye-catcher. All you need is a metal or wooden hoop and floral wire.
To make the wreath, first tie the Dried flowers in small bouquets together. Then use the floral wire to attach one bouquet after the other to the hoop. The bouquets should overlap so that there are no “bald spots”. Leave the last third of the hoop free, it looks lighter and more modern than a fully loaded wreath. Finally, you can use a hot glue gun to fill small holes with pretty flower heads.
The creativity there are no limits to the design. For example, combine fresh blossoms or leaves with dried flowers for a summery effect, or mix pine cones and rose hips into your wreath in autumn. Feathers can also be a great eye-catcher in a flower wreath.
DIY: pressing flowers
Another nice way to dry flowers is to press them. Maybe you remember it from your childhood. Depending on how much moisture the bud contains, pressing can take a few days or several weeks. flat flowers such as violets or daisies are particularly suitable for pressing.
With a book
You can easily press small flowers or cut blossoms between the pages of a book. Insert to this piece of cardboard into the book and place one or more flowers on it. Then put a piece of paper on the flowers and close the book. After a few days, check on your flowers and replace the discolored piece of paper if necessary.
With a flower press
Instead of a book, you can also use one flower press use. This consists of two squares Wooden writing with screws at the corners, cardboard and paper. Stack the materials in the following order: the wooden disc at the bottom, then the cardboard, then the paper and then the flowers. Then follows the second paper to cover the flowers, cardboard and on top the second wooden disk. Screw the press tightly and replace any discolored paper after a few days.
Tip: With the pressed flowers you can glue great collagen.