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DRIED FLOWERS |
Valentine.gr |
Collecting flowers
for drying
 Flowers
and other plant materials for drying should be picked close to their
prime. Flowers to be air-dried continue to open as they dry; therefore
such flowers should not be fully open at picking. Never place wilted
flowers into drying mixtures.
Flowers or leaves for
drying may be collected at any time during the growing season from
early spring until late fall. Always collect more material than is
needed, to allow for damage. Use only the most perfect forms. Poor
shapes dry as poor shapes. Use only plants and flowers free of insect
and disease damage. Damage becomes only more obvious after drying.
Pick flowers when they are free of dew or rain. Place stems promptly
in a container of water to prevent wilting while gathering.
It is sometimes
difficult to develop graceful lines when making dried flower
arrangements. Therefore, while collecting, look for branches and stems
with sweeping curves or lines that will add distinctiveness to the
arrangement. If none can be found, curves or other lines can be made
by shaping the branches or stems into the desired positions while they
dry.
In addition to flowers, stems and leaves that may be dried indoors, there are many
materials that can be collected in the fall and used almost directly
in arrangements after gathering. These include many seed pods, cones,
grain, grasses and berries found in the garden as well as in fields
and roadsides.
Environmental
Concerns of Harvesting
Wild Materials
Nature's bounty is
all around us. Our woods, fields, prairies and seashores harbor a
wealth of flowers, dried flower heads, seed pods, cones and berries
that are often regarded as going to waste. The temptation, therefore,
is to collect in quantity to satisfy markets removed by urbanization
from these native stands. Although profitable, such collecting may not
always be in the best interest of conservation
With the rampant
spread of our urban enviroments, far more plants are destroyed by
development than by collection. This fact, however, does not give
license to collectors. It should be remembered that all land belongs
to someone and so do the plants growing there. Collectors of cut and/or
dried flowers must carefully examine the issues surrounding removing
plant material from the wild for commercial markets.
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