Kristin Perers
Lavender
Cut just before or as the aromatic flowers open. Try white forms (such as ‘Edelweiss’) for a fresh look. Sprigs of eucalyptus or rosemary are also good to dry for scent.
Star sphere
The spent flowers of Scabiosa stellata ‘Sternkugel’ morph into weird and wonderful blonde seedheads. Harvest when these papery fawn globes first appear.
Strawflower
Helichrysum bracteatum is hard to beat for colourful crisp flowers. The glossy pink, yellow, orange, and purple blooms inject the home with colour over winter.
The tie and hang method for drying out flowers
How to dry flowers and seedheads
IN THEIR PRIME – Harvest flowers at their best and when they’re starting to open. Cut seedheads as soon as the flowers are spent and the skeletal seedhead emerges.
ON A DRY DAY – Harvest on a fine day, ideally following a few days of dry weather, and after lunch, so any moisture has evaporated.
SLOW COOK – There are quick drying methods but, for the best results, dry your flowers over a period of two to six weeks.
TIE AND HANG – Remove the lower leaves from the stems; bind tightly (as stems shrink as they dry) with twine or elastic bands; then hang upside down in a dry, dark place. A shed is usually too damp; airing cupboards are ideal, as is a spare room with a dehumidifier. To allow air flow, hang bunches with space between them, and stagger flowerheads within each bunch. For multiple bunches, hang on a line of wire or on coathangers.
STAND IN WATER – A few flowers (including hydrangeas and rudbeckias) benefit from being stood upright in 5cm of water, which is allowed to evaporate.
FOR OPEN FLOWERS – Blooms with sizeable flowers that might curl inwards if hanging upside down could be dried upright by threading them through a soil sieve atop a bucket, so the blooms rest upon the sieve’s grill.
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