Preserve Flowers for Creative Projects

After designing and creating something special with flowers, I always hate to see them whither and eventually die. Recently I began preserving the flowers I love so that I can use them again in the future. This autumn I’ve been practicing a lot with the beloved Dahlia Flower and I’ve had fantastic results. I’ve even been known to disassemble a bouquet and create a small everlasting wreath with its components to help better commemorate the event.

Various Methods of Drying Flowers

Sometimes, when I have abundant, hearty stems like lavender, I dry traditionally by hanging small bunches upside down. Other times, with flowers like hydrangea and tiny spray roses, I find I can just place them in a vase without water and wait. Often they’ll even dry with a lovely sculpture-like essence, creating art without any effort at all.

Dried spray roses in simple vase.

Preserving Flowers with Silica crystals

Another method for preserving flowers is to cover them in Silica Crystals and allow the crystals to extract the moisture from the flowers.

I like to use my favorite Micro Pruning Snips to remove foliage and stems unless you want the stems for your project. I then sprinkle about 1” of Silica Gel Crystals into the bottom of a Rubbermaid container so that it evenly covers the whole surface. I then carefully place the flowers either face up or face down on that layer of Silica Crystals, spacing them tightly, being sure they are not touching. Once the flowers are laid out in the container go ahead and pour more Silica Crystals over them and completely cover every part of the flower. Next, cover the container tightly with the matching lid and place it in a cool, preferably dark, area for about a week. Some flowers take less than a week to dry, so feel free to experiment.

Delicate dried Dahlia Flowres.

Removing preserved flowers

For this, I recommend buying a small, slotted spatula similar to the one below so you can retrieve the smaller flowers one at a time. I gently scoop under each flower and lift allowing the Silica Crystals to fall back into the container. I lightly tap each flower on all sides to release any remaining crystals. I place all the newly preserved flowers onto a tray side by side and when I am sure there is no moisture, I store them in a container with air vents as a last measure to ensure they don’t get moldy.

Gently scooping dried Dahlia Flowers out of the Silica Gel Crystals.

Creating with Dried Flowers

Once you’ve preserved enough flowers have fun creating wreaths, flower branches, or even small pieces of wood (pictured below) and use them as table cards or gift toppers. Or do as I do and just place small dried groupings in a pretty vase and enjoy them for a long time. If you do want to create wreaths or toppers, I recommend buying a quality glue gun. I do a lot of designing so I purchased a professional-grade (cordless) Ryobi Glue Gun and I love it. It does get very hot so be careful when gluing, but honestly not having a cord to deal with is so nice. The battery and charger are included.

Mini spray roses glued to a tiny piece of wood.

I hope you enjoy preserving all the pretty flowers you encounter. Feel free to drop me a line and share your creations. -Kimberly

Your Supply list:

Hearty Fresh Flowers (without a lot of delicate & loose petals)
Micro-Tip Pruning Snips
Rubbermaid Storage Containers with Lids
Silica Gel Crystals
Mini Slotted Spatula
Professional-grade Glue Gun