Southern California’s wildflower prairies
are becoming rare due to urbanization
and other factors. Fortunately, native annual
wildflowers are easy to grow and seeds are readily available. Growing wildflowers in your garden provides
enjoyment now – and a source of garden craft and food materials for later. See
our blog posting on ‘Growing Annual Wildflowers’ (January 2013) for tips on
growing these lovely plants.
One of the easiest spring garden crafts is
pressing flowers. At this time of year,
annual wildflowers are at their peak in local gardens. What better time to preserve a little spring
beauty to enjoy throughout the year! Next
month (May 2013) we’ll discuss ways to use pressed flowers; this month we focus
on the actual mechanics of pressing flowers.
Many universities and natural history museums
have herbariums or collections of
dried plant specimens, usually documenting plants that are native to a
particular region. Herbarium specimens
are created by drying and flattening plants parts – even entire plants – in a
plant press. Once dried, specimens are
stored under cool, dry, bug-free conditions.
They survive in surprisingly good shape for many years; and are an
invaluable resource for scientists. You
can use the same methods to dry flowers from your own garden.
There are several ways to press
flowers. The key requirements are: 1)
the flowers are dried (often slowly) to a very dry state; 2) they are pressed
flat (by applying pressure). We prefer old-time
methods, but you can explore other techniques in the ‘Resources’ at the end of
this posting.
You may have pressed flowers between the
pages of a book – or under a stack of heavy books. This method works fine, but there’s a risk
of ruining the books in the process. So
unless the book(s) are no longer needed, you might want to consider using a plant press instead. Plant presses can be purchased at science/teacher
supply stores and craft stores. But they
are easy and inexpensive to make.
Making
a Plant Press
Every plant press has two sturdy, flat ‘press-boards’
that are used to apply pressure. You can
cut the boards from plywood or purchase two inexpensive, sturdy wood or plastic
cutting boards (see below – we chose plastic). The surface should be smooth on at least one
side – not textured or warped. If you want to press only flowers, a handy
size is about 6 inches (15 cm) by 12 inches (30 cm).
Next you’ll need a method to apply pressure
to the plant press. Many purchased flower
presses have a bolt with a wing nut through each corner; these can be tightened
to apply pressure. You can do equally well using four stout
cords, straps – even bungee cords – wrapped around the plant press (see below). Alternatively, you can just place several
heavy books or bricks (cinderblocks are great!) atop the press to apply
pressure. All you need is some way to
cinch down the press tightly – or weigh down the press-boards.
The plant press is filled with sheets of
paper, cardboard and newspaper (or blotter paper) which absorb water from the
pressed flowers (see photo, above). Once
again, readily available materials will do.
Sheets from an inexpensive 9 x 12 inch sketch pad can be folded in half
to make a set of 9 x 6 inch folios to hold
the plant materials. Sections of
newspaper, folded and cut to size, make dandy blotting papers to layer above
and below the folios. And pieces of
cardboard – either chipboard or corrugated – can be cut to size to provide
added stiffness.
Pressing Flowers
and Foliage
Use only plant material that is dry – wait for
the dew to dry before collecting. Begin
with relatively small and thin flowers until you gain some experience. You can collect only flowers or flowers with
some foliage – a 6-8 inch stem works well. You may want to include some additional
foliage to use in your dried floral crafts. We find it best to wait about 5
minutes after cutting before putting the plant material in the plant
press. The flowers/leaves will wilt just
slightly, making them easier to position.
Open the plant press and place a layer of cardboard
and then a layer of newspaper/blotter on top of the bottom press-board. Next place a folio sheet on the
newspaper. Open up the folio and arrange flowers and
foliage so they look attractive and natural.
Be sure that each flower has plenty of space (see above). Carefully close the folio, add a layer of
newspaper, then another folio, and so on.
If the flowers are very thin, you’ll only need one newspaper/blotter
layer for every 2-3 folios. Place a
layer of cardboard every inch to add stiffness.
Once all the flowers are in the press, add
a final layer of newspaper topped with cardboard and then the top
press-board. Cinch up the cords/straps or place
bricks/heavy books atop the press. Place
the press in a dry shady spot (indoors or out) to dry. Check the press in a day or two and tighten
the cords/straps if needed. Remember,
the plants materials will shrink as they dry – and it’s important to keep them
flat throughout the drying process.
After 4 days, open the press and check the
plant materials. If plants are thin and the
weather is hot/dry your plants may already be dry. If plants are still moist, replace the
newspaper blotters with dry ones, and close the press to continue drying. You can air-dry the wet blotters and re-use
them many times.
Once the flowers are completely dry, remove them from the plant press. They will be brittle, so store them in a safe,
dry place until you use them.
Resources
Please feel free to
add your comments, below. If you have
questions, please e- mail us at: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com
great article:-)
ReplyDeletethanks for letting us see:-)
rebekah:-)