There is a great way of drying what you picked up along the way when you’re gathering wildflowers. It doesn’t require a lot of money and it doesn’t take a vast amount of time or energy.  There is an old favorite detergent that  is particularly good for drying yellow or white flowers such as dogwood or yellow roses. More useful than you may know is the old tried and true favorite detergent which used to be called 20 Mule Team Borax.

Borax works like a charm for drying your flowers, usually in just a few days, depending on what you are drying, and it leaves the color fresh and the flowers in exactly the same shape they were in when you plucked them from the plant.

When drying dogwood, I take the entire branch, leaving the flower blooms intact and lay a layer of the Borax about half an inch deep, in a low box or tray, then lay the branches in whole, and sprinkle borax over the top, making sure it is entirely covered.

It will take from 3-5 days to dry them, sometimes a bit longer, depending on what you’re drying, but when they are completed they are completely lovely and not a bit different than they were when they were fresh.

This works well for lighter colored flowers for some reason, but not so well for the darker ones. It may be a chemical reaction. Who knows but whatever the reason, the darker ones seem to look a bit on the wilted side. They are still better than store purchased dried flowers for use in floral arrangements. The Borax does work well for for things like dogwood, roses, violets, daffodils and so on.

Make sure that the flower is completely covered with the borax and that no parts of it are standing above the Borax. Layer them on waxed paper if you’re trying to save a little space and then cover them completely and wait. The result will be dried dogwood or white roses or clover that look precisely the same as when they were growing on those gorgeous trees..For drying flowers, you can’t beat this old time country method.

by: Robbi Drake

Dried flowers are useful in arrangements and for bath salts, soaps
as well as to use in many other craft items.

Dried flowers can be achieve not only from what you have grown yourself, but also from what you may find on a nature walk, in your backyard or along a roadway. Queen annes lace, buttercups, wild sunflowers all dry nicely to make lovely arrangements.

To Dry Your Own

Pick your flowers in dry weather. Preferably you will pick them
after 11 am, when the dew has evaporated from the ground, and nucn
them into small bouquests, protected from dust by covering them
with a sheet of paper.

HANG FLORALS

To preserve their bright colors, hang flowers in a dry well
ventilated area, with very little light, such as an attic, garage
or a closet. Too much light will cause discoloration of the
flowers, fading them

HERB HANGING
Herbs which will be used for cooking, should not be hung upside
down, as this will deplete their essential oils. Instead, use paper
towels or a wire screen to dry them, or, it can be done quite
effectively in the microwave on low power, using paper towels below
them.

PREVENTING PETAL DROP

To prevent your flowers from losing their petals while drying, pick
them before they are fully opened up, and leave a sufficient amount
of space between the hanging bouquets, or about six inches.
You can replace brittle stems with bits of metal florist wire,
while the flower is still fresh.
Thread a length of wire through the stem and bloom of brittle
flowers such as straw flowers, while they are fresh. Bend a small
hook at the end and pull the wire down into the bloom to conceal
it.

LEAVES

You can stabilize the colors of leaves by ironing them with a
moderately hot iron. The larger ones can be ironed directly, such
as maple and oak, while smaller more delicate ones can be ironed
between the pages of newsprint .
The heat will set and stablize the colors even if you don’t iron
them or dip them into wax