Beautiful flowers can be made to last for very long periods of time and enjoyed long into the cold, bleak months. Seed pods and grasses are also wonderful additions to dried flower arrangements. Bouquets are only one type of display that can be designed - wreaths and greeting cards are a couple other examples of different ways dried flowers and other plant materials can be used. Flowers have been dried for generations. Long before plastic and silk flowers were available in craft shops, people dried flowers, foliage and seed pods to decorate their homes. The simplest method of drying is to cut the materials just before full bloom, tie them in loose bunches, and then hang them upside down in a dry, warm place. Your own harvest can be supplemented with things from the roadside through the spring, summer and fall. Even common dock in different stages of development makes splendid material, as do such things as sumac and bittersweet. Pressing is another way to preserve flowers and some other materials. A formal flower press can be used, or simply heavy books! The plant materials should be placed between smooth paper to keep them from sticking, and to give their finished texture some polish. Berries and other hard, three dimensional objects do not lend themselves to this technique readily, although for use in the right project, one might combine both three dimensional and pressed plants. Beautiful greeting cards can be crafted with pressed materials. Or one might craft a botanical arrangement for framing and hanging on the wall. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination. Craft stores have many supplies, like wreath forms, florist supplies and baskets. They usually have idea books with instructions for specific projects as well. It's fun to extend the beauty of the season and the bounty of your hard work!

Other Methods for Preserving  Borax Mix 10 parts white cornmeal with 3 parts borax, or 3/4 borax and 1/4 sand. If kept dry, this mixture can be used for years. Put the mixture in flat boxes, then place flowers head down on the mix and cover thoroughly, leaving the stems sticking out. After about 2 weeks the flowers should be ready to remove and store in boxes out of light, or used immediately in projects.  Glycerine Woody plant foliage can be preserved well with this technique. Using a mixture of 1/3 glycerine and 2/3 water, place the stems of the materials to be preserved in the mixture. After soaking for about 3 weeks, the leaves should begin to feel like glycerine on their outer edges, indicating the process is finished.  Silica Gel Silica gel can be purchased at craft stores and used on the same materials that borax preserves. Color retention is better.

The following lists are merely a sampling of the possible plants than can be used for dried floral arrangements and other crafts. Not listed are many herbs which can lend aromatic pleasures to the splendid visual displays presented by these crafts. Flower species suited to pressing are limited only by their shape, and it never hurts to try using something new in a variety of techniques to see how it turns out! Be sure to keep dried arrangements out of direct sunlight, as this can cause the color to fade quickly. Grasses Grasses should be gathered before going to seed and can be left upright in bunches or hung to dry. bamboo cattail oats millet pampas grass sorghum maiden grass quaking grass Flowers for Borax and Silica Gell hollyhock butterfly bush coneflower clematis Queen Anne's lace delphinium lenton rose narcissus black-eyed Susan, rudbeckia rose blue salvia marigold veronica speedwell violet pansy zinnia Woody Foliage for Glycerine barberry beech canna eucalyptus purpleleaf sandcherry magnolia Oregon holly-grape oak rhododendron viburnum (Siebold) Berries and Seed Pods American bittersweet European bittersweet Privet (green or dark blue berries) Sumac (cut when green or first turned red) Chinese lantern (seed pods) Nandina Beauty Berry rose hips lotus sweet gum sycamore teasel trumpet vine yucca Plants for Hanging yarrow onion amaranth wormwood celosia (cockscomb) globe thistle gypsophila (baby's breath) hydrangea sea lavender bells-of-Ireland Chinese lantern pussy willow rose

Make a Beautiful Hydrangea Wreath You will need: straw wreath base (whatever size you like) 15-30 stems of hydrangea (depending on size of wreath) 5-10 stems of cockscomb (celosia) 5-10 lemon leaf stems 30-50 floral pins clippers or scissors There is no need to pre-dry the hydrangea flowers for this wreath. They will dry on the wreath over time. 1) Beginning anywhere on the wreath pin one or two hydrangea flowers to the wreath form. Then trim extra stem away so it will not stick out beyond the wreath base. 2) Pin on lemon leaf and cockscomb artfully! 3) Continue working the same way, alternating hydrangeas and cockscomb with lemon leaf the rest of the way around the wreath base until covered. 4) Hang your wreath on a picture hook using the wire wrapping on the straw wreath base. Be sure to hang the wreath out of direct sunlight to prevent premature color bleaching. Low humidity will lengthen the life-span also. Wreaths will last up to two years.