Sweet Pea Specialists
- Feb 19, 2021
- 3 min read

Dried Flowers & Seed Pods

Updated: Jan 22

So why are dried flowers so popular?

They are long lasting. You can get up to a year if not longer from your dried flowers. Whereas fresh flowers average a vase life of 10 days.
They are fuss free. No changing the water every couple of days.
They make excellent arrangements and displays for events and weddings. Due to them being dried, arrangements can be made much longer in advance and will not require water to keep them fresh. This also allows for more creativity in displaying arrangements as you are not limited to the requirement of having to provide water. Another bonus is that they will hold up to heat and other conditions that would stress fresh flowers.
You will be able to use flowers out of season without having to spend lots of money sourcing fresh flowers. This is also better for the environment as most out of season flowers need to be sourced from overseas. Plus you will be supporting local businesses.
Dried flowers are excellent value for money. They may seem more expensive but when you do the maths and compare the equivalent cost of fresh flowers needed for the same time period, you are saving a small fortune.

How to Dry Flowers / Seed Pods / Foliage.

There are several ways to dry flowers but air drying is the simplest and very affordable.

Collect your flowers and seed pods. It is important that you collect flowers just before they have fully opened. Picked too early the flowers have not been allowed to fully develop or colour up. Picked too late the flowers will fall apart. Seed pods are easier, just harvest when you like what you see. Sometimes you can just harvest them dry from the garden. It will be trial and error until you get familiar with each variety but experimenting is half the fun.
Strip foliage from the stems immediately. Tie the flowers with jute into bunches of around 12 each. For even drying, tie the same varieties of flowers together. Check your flowers for insects and remove them.
Flowers are hung upside down to preserve their shape and ensure straight stems. Hang your bunches of flowers in a dry and dark location. Light will cause your flowers to fade. Damp areas will go mouldy. I use an old cupboard to hang my flowers. It is as simple as hanging the flowers from wooden coat hangers. Flowers can take between 2 to 3 weeks to dry with others taking longer. You know when your flowers are ready when the petals can be crumbled.
Handle dried flowers with care as they are very fragile and will damage easily.
Dried flowers can be stored in cardboard boxes until you are ready to use them.

You can increase your range of dried flowers using the following methods:

Pressing - ideal for pansies, leaves and ferns.
Borax or Silica - ideal for more delicate flowers eg scabiosa, clematis, cosmos, dahlias and peonies to name a few.

Get Creative

There are so many ways you can use your dried flowers other than a vase. Remember you are not limited to having to provide them with water. However, saying that you can mix fresh flowers and dried flowers together. Other features like feathers and twigs can also be added for extra texture and interest.