The Season to Dry Hydrangeas

We are coming to the end of the hydrangea season. To keep a bouquet that will last throughtout the year I am going to dry my flowers. In the past I have tried to dry them without success by hanging them upside down and letting them air dry. This time I am going to use the vase method. First, only pick the hydrangeas which the color of the flower's petals has faded. My blue flowers have lost most of their color and the petals are beginning to turn papery, this is the optimum time to pick them.

Cut the flowers leaving at least a 10 inch stem and remove all of the leaves. I put the flowers in a vase with 4 inches of water and then placed them in a room where they will not get direct sunlight. The water will eventually evaporate and the flowers will dry.

The trick to getting a nice dried flower is to pick your hydrangeas after the color begins to fade and the petals begin to have a papery texture. It is important to gather them at this point. By waiting to pick your flowers until they have faded in color will result in a dried bouquet versus being left with a vase full of wilting flowers.

Update:

After placing my fresh picked hydrangeas in a guest room (out of direct sunlight) for about three weeks the hydrangeas dried perfectly!

The petals are now tissue paper thin and precious! They are so beautiful that I am inspired to dry out a basket full!! I love how they have kept the pale green color, they are just lovely and will last throughout the year.

Comments

Kid's Pink Flamingo Costume Tutorial

I made this pink flamingo costume for my niece last year. I love the Pottery Barn costume but I thought I could created my own version of their pink flamingo kids costume and save a little money. Pink Flamingo Body: I needed a pattern for the body of the costume. I used Simplicity 2070 pattern pumpkin costume (Design A in the pattern) using a light pink fleece fabric. It looks almost exactly like the Pottery Barn version. You can make it without the arms as in the Pottery Barn costume but since my niece lived in New England she needed something warm to wear. The Design A pumpkin version comes with long sleeves. Since you are using fleece you can easily cut them short without the need to hem since fleece does not fray very much or not add the sleeves at all. Pink Flamingo Hood : Next, I made the flamingo hood using the same pattern as the chick (Design B in the pattern) made with the same light pink fleece as the body for the h

Make an American Girl Doll Flutter Sleeve Dress - Free Pattern & Video Tutorial

Free Pattern & Video Tutorial - Fat Quarter Flutter Sleeve Dress You can watch a Youtube tutorial of this dress here: Fat Quarter Flutter Sleeve Dress Tutorial Make an American Girl doll flutter sleeve dress by using fat quarter fabrics. Fat quarters are fabric squares, normally 18" x 21" (ok, not really a square) sold to make a variety of sewing and craft projects. For this particular dress, one fat quarter is enough to make one dress. I used two fat quarters for main (outer fabric) and another fabric for the sleeves and pockets for contrast. But, if you want the dress to be all of the same fabric you will only need one fat quarter for the main dress. I purchased the fabric at Walmart for only 97cents each! I had extra white fabric on hand that I used for the lining so for $1.94 plus tax I made two adorable AG dresses for my nieces! Supplies: 1-Fat Quarter Fabric (18” x 21”) I purchased my fat quarters at Walmart. Waverly Inspirations

Ixora's are in Bloom!

Today I stepped out into my southern garden and the Ixora's are in full bloom! The huge balls of hot pink flowers are just popping from their beds under our palm trees. Ixora's are the south's version of the hydrangea. When they bloom they brighten up the garden, adding color to the very green landscape. We have had so much rain this summer that many of the flowers in my garden have just given up, only mushrooms and ixora's have prevailed! Ixora Plant

The Pink Veranda

Search This Blog