Decorating With Dried Flowers

Flowers are a reminder that everything that was once beautiful and alive fades with time. While that may sound depressing to some, I don’t think it is. In fact it’s a rather beautiful life lesson. It’s also why I love dried flowers. They may not be as stunning or beautiful as a freshly cut bloom, but they have a quiet, understated beauty that defies, or at least slows down, the rule of time.

If you want to enjoy dried flowers you can make your own ! In most cases you still get to enjoy buying fresh flowers but transform them so they can last for years. I’ve dried most of my own flowers and they are a really affordable way to enjoy natural decor.

Certain flowers are easier to dry than others – I’ve had the most success with flowers made up of very small buds like Baby’s Breath, Yarrow, or Lavender. These you just pick when they are freshest, tie the stems together with string or rubber band, and then hang the bundle upside down in a cool, dry place. You have to make sure to hang the bundle upside down so it keeps its shape as it dries. If you don’t the flowers might get droopy.

Other flowers I’ve dried on accident by being lazy and forgetting to water them. This is how I dried my fresh cut spray roses. Once the water evaporated out of the vase I was keeping them in, the roses dried up on their very own — believe it or not my roses are now a year old and still keep their fabulous color!

One of my favorite dried flowers are hydrangeas. I tried to dry these myself and bought numerous bouquets of hydrangeas and followed drying directions I found online — but every time I came away with droopy, sad looking hydrangeas. I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong until I did some more research and found that hydrangeas are best dried in August — when they are at their peak bloom. I was using just store bought hydrangeas and think they need to be taken right from the bush for the best effect. After numerous failed attempts I ended up buying some from a seller on Etsy – and I’m so happy I did! They are a beautiful focal point in my dining room that have lasted years.

Check out my dried flowers below — would you include them in your decor? Leave me a comment below!