High and dried
Something’s gone viral and it’s not Covid-19, writes Leigh Bramwell
IT’S NICEWHENyou’re told about a new trend happening overseas before it goes viral here. Of course, in these Covid/post-Covid times it’s quite possible something other than Covid could have gone viral withoutmenoticing it, but in this case, I think not.
Afriend just back from theUKhas alertedmeto the resurgence there of the dried flower trend, so if it ever stops raining and blowing a gale inmyneck of the woods, I’ll be able to get ahead of the game.
Youmaynot believe this, but there was a time when people madetheir owndried flower arrangements and potpourri instead of buying them from the two dollar shop.
Potpourri
I’m not very good at potpourri because collecting up all the stuff takes a bit of planning. You can’t just throw it together from what’s lying around and have it in your potpourri coffee table by lunchtime. You’ll need aromatic and/or decorative plant materials, whole spices, chips of pleasantsmelling wood, citrus peel, essential oils and fixative. You can use almost any plant material that you like— rose petals, marigold flowers and foliage, mints, scented geraniums, lavender, fragrant herbs like thyme and rosemary, and evergreen needles.
Dry them by air-drying or microwaving between paper towels and then add whole cloves or sticks of cinnamon, bits of bark, or dried orange, lime or lemon peel. Then you’ll need a fewdrops of essential oil, which will ensure a longer lasting scent than plant materials alone and a fixative to increase (orris root is commonly used) and preserve the scent. If it all smells gorgeous but looks like it came out of the compost bin, add dried flowers, coloured berries and seed pods to smarten it up.
Decorative art
All you have to do to create a stylish artwork from what is in effect dead plant matter is venture outside to collect a fewseed pods, curly bits of dried-out gumbranch, barks, twigs and dehydrated leaves.
If you live in a sub-tropical climate where you have access to palm trees, you’ll have plenty of choice. The dry fronds make dramatic backdrops for arrangements, and their curled bases work as containers. If you want to keep them forever you can trim them up, sand them and seal them. They also offer up amazing seed pods. Others you can try are banksia, acacia, eucalyptus, flax and magnolia. Howyou choose to display your items depends on personal style. Glass jars, wooden bowls, shallow corrugated cardboard boxes or terracotta pots are ideal. You don’t need to buynew — haunt garage sales and hospice shops for suitable vessels. You might find some of the original of pottery items that were treasured in the 70s.
If mixing lots of colours make you nervous, colour theme your creations. You can get a great contemporary look using a glass or metal container, silver-gray bark and foliage, red berries and white flowers.
Dried Flowers
Actually drying your ownflowers is taking it all a step further but it’s very satisfying. Dried flowers are earthy and textural, and although once dried they often lose some of their colour, they’re never dull.
Flowers for drying should be picked when they’re just a little more open than you’d choose for a fresh arrangement but if they’re too ripe, they might fall apart during the drying process. The traditional method is to remove all of the foliage and leaves on the stem. Hang flowers individually or rubber-band stems together to hang a bouquet. Use dental floss to secure the bottoms of the stems to a hanger or pole and hang them upside down in a dark, dry area with good airflow. Leave for two to three weeks until completely dry. If you’re not going to use them immediately, you can wrap them in tissue and store them.
If you’re the impatient type, you can dry them in the microwave. Take amicrowaveproof container and add a thin layer of silica sand. Place the flowers on it and then completely cover with sand. Put them in the microwave with a cup full of water and microwave for 30 seconds at a time for about two or three minutes.
Leave them in the sand for 24 hours, remove, gently shake the sand off, and they’re good to go.