A bunch of dried flowers

Dried flowers probably remind people of rooms that are in desperate need of redecorating. Where one feels the urge to throw out the dusty bunch of pale dried whatsits along with the cheap brown furniture and the 1960s flowery wallpaper. 

However, in my opinion, dried flowers are great and they are underrated. Some flowers show off their intricacies much better when dried and they are perfect for putting flowers in those badly lit areas like for example our hall. 

For dark rooms fake flowers are of course also an option. Although they will remain "perfect" they will also gather dust and eventually they will no doubt start to bore you. Dried flowers are a much better option. They are the real thing and thus more environmentally friendly. Come next season, you can just replace them without feeling guilty at all!

So this week a bunch of dried flowers as indeed I have thrown out the bunch I had in the hall. Last year I specifically grew Statice (Limonium sinuatum) and Strawflower (Helichrysum bracteatum - see picture below) for drying. My first sowing never showed probably because of the slugs. The second sowing went okay. Although the number of harvested flowers was slightly disappointing, it still suffices for at least two bunches together with common yellow yarrow (Achillea) and seedheads of oriental poppies and Love-in-a-mist.

The trick with any flower that you want to airdry is to pick them at the right moment. For strawflowers this is not straightforward as multiple flowers are produced on one stem which inevitably means that the main flower is too far ahead at the moment that the other ones are just right ie just about to open. In my bunch I have used both the ones that are just right and the ones that are probably a bit too far ahead. It's nature after all. 

Interestingly, statice is often used in fresh bouquets, but strawflowers look really out of place in a fresh bunch - and believe me, I've tried. 

Maybe I'll be a bit more adventurous this year and grow more varieties for drying. For now, just a few pictures of my new little bucket of flowers for the hall. 

Note, I have used some grey oasis ie dried floral foam which, if I'm honest, is probably not very environmentally friendly. The picture with the wine glass is to show how small the arrangement actually is.