You all know how much I like flowers, roses in particular. I think Roses are great value for money because they look stunning freshly cut and in a vase and they look just as lovely dried and either in a vase or hanging upside down. I have always dried flowers ever since I got married and dried my wedding roses. In our flat we had multiple bunches at various stages of drying hanging around. When it was just Gary and I, even when we only had £20 a week to spend on food, non food and activities, I would make buying roses a priority. They help make a house a home and create a lasting beauty.
I thought I would show you all how I dry them, because it is super easy, super fast and requires absolutely no skill at all!
The first thing to decide is what stage of blossom you would like to dry them at. Most roses can be bought at the budding stage where they are fairly closed. As time goes by they gently open out to a full flower. I dry at different stages. Whatever stage they are at is the stage they will dry. They will not tend to open more as they dry.
The second thing to know is that if you dry them upright, they will dry with the bud/flower gently drooping over. If you dry them upside down you they will dry dead straight:
Drying in a vase
- Cut to the size you want
- Organise in a vase to your liking
- And leave
That’s it! It really is that easy. I do nothing else and they always dry beautifully. I have just added some of the roses I got for my birthday to the jug (beautifully made by my lovely friend Nik) of already dried flowers:
I think the mix of dried and not dried is quite pretty, and it will be fun watching the fresh ones dry alongside the already dried ones:
Happy sigh…..so pretty.
Drying Upside Down
This is just as easy.
- Collect the flowers you wish to dry:
- Take them out of the water. Cut to the size you wish them to be. I usually leave them just as they are. I have never wiped them down, but I guess it couldn’t hurt if you would prefer no drips:
- I use ripped cloth, but any type of string or tie would do. Gently wrap cloth tie around the stalks, tie a knot and leave enough length to allow for hanging:
- Hang upside down. I used to hang them from my dresser, but right now I am drying from the banisters in my hallway/office space:
I spend a lot of time here and seeing them hanging up gives me enormous joy:
Happy, happy sigh. It’s the simple things in life….
I’ve got several bunches of dried flowers. One time Jeff found me tie-died flowers, and I had to save them. They’re currently in a bowl in the dining room.
Tie-dyed flowers? The mind boggles! How does one tie-dye a flower?
I have no clue, but each flower had a couple of different colors. It was super cool.
Your roses are lovely. I have saved some dried flowers from the caskets of my mother, grandmother, and grandmother-in-law. They look lovely in a mason jar. We dry ours upside down in the garage. Not quite as lovely hanging there as on your stairs.
I like the idea of putting then in a mason jar. Is that just the petals? I’m definitely trying that out <3
You are so right, it is the simple things in life…!
I like the fact they have longevity – you enjoy them fresh and then hanging upside down and then placed in a mason jar (see Donna’s comment – I am so trying that!)
I LOVE roses, and am looking forward to restarting buying them once I start my new job! I’ll definitely use your idea of drying them hanging upside down, they look so lovely like that.
When do you start? Is this the child minding position? I hope you enjoy it!
I have two jobs – one is nannying two days a week during university term time, which I have already started. It’s fun; hanging out with a two year old and getting paid for it? Yes please! The second job, the main one, will be 30 hours a week as a Family Worker for the council. No idea when I start, I got the job on September 12th and we’re still waiting for all the checks to be completed!