When you are out walking in the wood or the fields, and you find some gorgeous wildflowers, most of us wish that we could find a way to make them last a great deal longer. Believe it or not, preserving wildflowers nearly in their original shape is just not at all difficult. I was taught this trick by an old mountain man, heaven knows where he got it. It has proven to be the best way to dry flowers for me. They end up looking nearly perfect.

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

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