Only in recent years have I become a fan of dried flowers. I always used to turn up my nose at them because they reminded me of tacky, dated flower books from the late ‘80s.
Now I can’t believe it took me so long to discover their benefits. Drying flowers means you can preserve the abundance in your garden to be enjoyed later when nothing is blooming. Back when we were finishing the winter chapter of A Year in Flowers, I realized how useful and versatile dried flowers really are.
If you use the right method, you can dry just about anything, and there are dozens of books on the subject lining the shelves of used bookstores and thrift stores. A couple of years ago I discovered a dated but incredibly helpful book, Flowers: Growing-Drying-Preserving, by Alan Cormack and David Carter, that goes into great detail on all the different varieties that you can dry, plus step-by-step instructions for how to do it, whether you’re air drying or using silica gel.
There are so many ways to use dried flowers, seedpods, and grasses: in late autumn arrangements, adorning fresh holiday wreaths, or even mixed with fresh blooms. I thought it would be helpful to share some of the varieties that are the easiest to grow and most popular for drying.
Strawflowers (pictured above) is a traditional standby, but the gorgeous new colours and varieties make them seem entirely different from those ’80s flowers, and they actually look incredible when mixed with fresh blooms.
Start seed indoors in trays 6 weeks before your last frost. Seed requires light to germinate so do not cover. Bottom-water until seedlings emerge, and transplant out after all danger of frost has passed. For drying, you can cut them at the desired stage of openness, and they’ll hold in that stage.
Statice, another standby, is one of the best flowers for drying and also wonderful when used fresh. Easy to grow and great for beginners, this versatile plant’s papery flowers bloom all summer long.
Start seeds indoors 6 weeks before the last frost; transplant out when all danger of frost has passed. Harvest when all flowers on a stem have appeared. If picked too soon, stems will wilt. Fresh flowers have a 7- to 10-day vase life.
Larkspur (second from right, above) is one of the easiest cut flowers to grow—cold-titrant and early to bloom, it adds tall, colourful spikes to spring gardens.
Direct seed in late fall or early spring or start seed indoors in trays 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost, and plant out while the weather is still cool. Plants do best when sown directly in the garden. Larkspur can be planted in fall in even the coldest corners of the world. Speed up germination by chilling seed in a refrigerator or freezer for a week before sowing.
To dry, let all but the top three to four blooms open, then pick and hang upside down in a warm, dry place out of bright light for 2 weeks.
Grown for their unique textural blooms, celosias are vigorous and free-flowering. These easy-to-grow flowers come in a wide variety of shapes, colours, and forms, ranging from a crested cockscomb to spikey, plumed forms that are great accents for bouquets.
Flower heads get bigger over time, so pick when they are the size that you want, but before they go to seed. Celosias often last 2 weeks as fresh flowers. To dry them, hang freshly cut stems upside down in a warm dark place for 2 to 3 weeks or until they are firm to the touch.
Globe Amaranth has adorable, button-like blooms that look great in bouquets. This late summer darling thrives in the heat and is hard-working in both the garden and in the vase.
Start seed indoors in trays 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost; transplant out after all danger of frost has passed. Freshly harvested flowers can last up to 2 weeks in the vase, and dried flowers look nearly the same as fresh ones.
Eucalyptus is a staple, much in demand by florists and for weddings. Its blue-green and silvery hues set off both cool and warm floral palettes, and everyone loves its distinctive methol fragrance. Our favourite is ‘Round-Leaved Mallee’, pictured above.