For the last few weeks my Monday vases have been showcasing some of the plant materials I dried last summer; drying flowers was a goal I had for 2025 after reading a couple of books I had received the previous Christmas. So here is a little summary of my experiences.
First of all, these are the books I used for help and inspiration:
And
In ‘Everlastings’ there are some beautiful ideas for how to use both pressed and dried flowers, most a little beyond my talent! However, I found the information on the process and above all the list of flowers and foliage that can be dried extremely helpful. I was unsure of myself and how my flowers would dry, but now that I have a year of testing things out I will definitely try some of the ideas presented here, such as a floral brooch, a gathered bouquet, and perhaps even a wreath. The tone of the book is very calming and friendly, and I feel it was written by a kindred spirit! Here is a page spread from ‘Everlastings’:
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‘Forever Flowers’ is also a beautiful book, using mainly botanical style drawings of suggested materials. Something I also liked especially about this one is the detailed description of the plants, in alphabetical order and with pictures and information on how to grow them and how to dry and prepare them, as you can see in the photo of a page spread below:
There were a few ideas at the end on how to arrange them, but the focus on this book is definitely the plants to choose. Very useful for me indeed, and I would recommend both of these books as they are quite different from each other and yet both exceptionally well-thought out and helpful.
I am sure many of my readers have dried flowers at some stage themselves, but if you are hesitant at trying, perhaps my own experiences may help. It is so much simpler than I thought and the worse thing that can happen is that not everything will turn out as expected. But some things may be a big success and will surprise you, like they did me!

I had no idea that these Helipterum flowers would remain looking exactly as when I picked them – over six months later!
I bought some very cheap garden shelves (plastic and thin plastic-coated metal) for hanging the materials upside down from or laying them flat.
Any lightweight shelves would work as they do not need to bear any weight. Or even a wire stretched across a room would function well. The room I decided to use is in our cellar/basement.
It has a window, which I partially covered, and this is absolutely the key to retaining colour… the darker the room the better. Another key factor to consider is humidity; although it remains fairly cool in our cellar in summer, I was still a little worried about the levels of humidity, but it worked out fine. By September the humidity level drops considerably here and they dried well. I think an attic space may be a suitable area for drying too.
Then it was simple – cut the flowers, grasses, foliage etc while dry, preferably in the morning. I cut materials all through the summer, from early July onwards.
For flowers, pick at their peak. For grasses, as early in their lifecycle as possible. Foliage needs to be very dry. I found that seedheads should be cut almost immediately the petals have dropped. I also found that dense foliage would benefit from being dried flat rather than hanging it up; my foliage all seemed too ‘upright’ as a result of drying it upside down. Also consider that the flowers will shrink considerably, so pick far more than you think you want!
I tied groups of flowers together with normal garden string in small bunches, mostly of one kind. Then tied them to the shelving upside down. In retrospect I would definitely try what Eliza suggested (thanks Eliza!) and make finished mixed posies which would be ready to pop in a vase when dried. I think I can do that this year, now that I have a rough idea of how some plants dry and what can indeed be dried at all (which was almost everything!). In future I will also make sure I cut stems as long as possible.
The process is a bit messy, as some seedheads pop and scatter seeds everywhere, and leaves do crumble. The grasses tend to fall apart too, and I had a dustpan and brush at hand! I checked regularly, but had no issues with mould. The only issue I had at one stage was little flies – the larvae were possibly in some of the material. But regular checks can keep any such problem easily under control.
The majority of the materials I saved were dry within a short time… a month or so perhaps? Here is a rough list of some of what I dried:
Achillea, Alchemilla, Calendula, Helipterum, Helichrysum italicum, Helichrysum, Physocarpus, Salvia nemorosa, Statice, poppy seedheads, grasses of all description, Allium seedheads, Hydrangea paniculata, Monarda, Centranthus rubra, Iris sibirica, Anaphalis, Pulsatilla seedheads, Clover, Hypericum, Daucus carota, Thlaspi (Pennycress), and probably many more things.
My favourites were the Anaphalis, Pulsatitlla and Nigella seedheads, Iris seedpods, poppies, Helichrysum italicum, Helipterum and Calendula. And all the grasses. Some I wouldn’t bother with again are the Physocarpus (too crumbly) and the Hypericum, which surprisingly lost almost all its colour and was rather ugly I felt.
But at the end of the day it is all a matter of taste and it is the combinations that make an arrangement look good, with a mix of flowers, foliage, grasses and seedheads. 🌸
Perhaps you have some tips, or are inspired to dry something yourself? Do leave a comment below!
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