My So Connecticut Life: How I Preserve Flowers to Bring a Little Bit of Summer Into Fall
This is my late-summer ritual of drying hydrangeas and pressing flowers, and how I easily do both with no extra equipment needed
As much as I love summer, I’m not usually one to dwell on the passing of the seasons, and I look forward to fall each year. But at the same time, there are always pieces of the season I miss – and toward the top of the list is all of the greenery and gardens in full bloom. So every August, before I start the fall gardening jobs, like deadheading perennials and thinking about bulbs, I like to preserve some of my favorite flowers, leaves, and herbs from around the gardens.
Preserving Hydrangeas
Little Quickfire Hydrangeas, on the left, turn a beautiful shade of dusty pink when dry. I also plucked a few ferns and lobelia from my planters to preserve them this year.
Hydrangeas are my favorite flower to preserve. In my opinion, they look just as beautiful dried in a vase as they do when they’re freshly cut. I dry a few different varieties from my garden every year, and they last well into the following spring. They’d probably last even longer, but by that point, I’m ready for fresh flowers again.
Preserving hydrangeas is straightforward if you cut the right varieties at the right time. I stick with panicle and smooth for two reasons. First, these types bloom on new wood, meaning new growth, so cutting them now won’t put next year’s flowers at risk. You can be generous with the snips. I avoid cutting classic Bigleaf hydrangeas because they bloom on old wood and are much easier to over-prune. And second, I also find that panicle and smooth hydrangeas seem to have hardier petals and keep their shape better than Bigleaf varieties.
Preserved hydrangeas are my favorite fall decor because they feel seasonal without feeling too themed.
In terms of when to cut them, mine are usually ready from mid-August through early September. I cut them when the leaves start to turn papery but aren’t browned or completely dry yet. I use sharp shears and make a diagonal cut.
Once they’re off the bush, I remove all of the leaves and place them in a vase with about two inches of water. (There’s no need to add anything to it or refill the water once it evaporates.) If they’re already pretty dry when I cut them, sometimes I’ll even skip the water. That’s it. They’ll dry the rest of the way on their own.
There are other methods, like hanging them upside down, but I find that letting them sit in a vase works perfectly.
Pressing Flowers in a Book
I press my flowers in an old dictionary, with a few more books stacked on top for added weight, but you can also use a dedicated flower press.
The other way I preserve the garden is through pressed flowers, leaves, and herbs. This varies a little from year to year depending on what’s growing, but the general rule is to look for things with thin, papery petals and avoid anything fleshy or high in moisture – those don’t press well and tend to turn brown. Ferns are a personal favorite, along with herbs like rosemary and oregano. For flowers, cosmos, individual hydrangea florets, sweet peas, and pansies all press beautifully.
This year, I went with a mix of ferns, herbs, hydrangeas, pansies, and blue lobelia. For the process itself, I keep it simple, no dedicated flower press required. I find that sandwiching flowers between the pages of an old book works just as well. I lay the flowers flat between two sheets of blotting paper to protect the book pages (but you can even skip the blotting paper if you don't mind a few flower stains on your book pages), then close the book and stack a few heavy ones on top. After a week or two, they'reflat, dry and ready to use.
I like to frame my pressed flowers, but you can also turn them into bookmarks, add them to gift wrap or decoupage them onto jars.
Blotting papers make pressing flowers in a book a neater endeavor.
I don't have any in my own garden, but I love how Queen Anne's Lace looks when pressed.
These preserved panicle hydrangeas are a perfect alternative if you don't have any in your own garden.
If you'd rather not use books, a simple floral press is an inexpensive alternative.
I love how a bunch of dried hydrangeas look in a bulbous vase.
This is similar to the frame I used for my pressed flowers this year.
Preserving some of the flowers from my garden is a small time investment that pays off for months to come. A vase of dried hydrangeas and a pressed fern in a frame add much-needed life to a room in the middle of a New England winter.
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