A bowlful of summer! - The art of flower drying.

With the last weeks of summer fast fading, we will try to capture summer in a bowl for your living room.

This is a flower drying project. The first thing you will need is silica gel. It’s usually kept in suitcases, wallets and new furniture in small paper pouches so it can absorb the moisture and keep goods fresh. But small pouches will not b enough for the project; you will have to buy a bag of silica gel from a craft store. I bought a bag for 10 dollars. You will also need a plastic/microwaveable air tight container with lid and a spoon. The things that come in contact with silica must not be used for cooking or storing food. So, keep these containers and spoons devoted for flower drying.

The way to do it is to first choose what flowers to dry. I have tried drying a variety of flowers I could lay my hands on, and have learnt that medium to large sized ones with strong petals - like roses and marigolds are best suited. If the petals are too thin or flimsy, they will not dry properly and they will also be a little too fragile to handle. Do not go around plucking the flowers yet.

There are 2 ways to dry flowers. The normal way which will take 1.5-2.5 days to dry your flowers and the other is where you use a microwave which can do the same thing in 1-2 mins. But by experience, I learnt the normal way gives a better finish for the flowers and the stem does not get as flimsy as they get when you use the microwave.

Step 1:

Fill your container with silica gel for about 1 inch. Place the flower facing upward. (you can cut the stem or if you want the entire stem, then you have to have a container deep enough) You must place the flower exactly the way you want it to shape up. Like, if you want it to look as if it had fallen off then lay it flat, as shown in the picture.

If you have many flowers of the same kind, then you can do them all at once. But make sure the flowers are not touching each other when you arrange them.

Step 2:

Pour rest of the silicagel inside, outside and all over the flower until it’s completely covered.

Step 3:

Close the airtight container and place it in a dry dark corner of your home.

Step 4:

Most medium sized flowers like roses and marigolds dry in 2 days. Flimsier flowers will dry up in a day. Check the flowers and pour out the silica slowly and use a brush to gently push off the silica beads stuck to the petals. You can actually leave a few behind because they will look like dew drops. Repeat the steps with all your flowers.

Step 5:

After all your flowers are ready, arrange them the way you want them to look. I used a 89 cents earthen bowl. Filled it up with saw dust and a top layer of stones and pebbles. You could also use sand, thermocol beads or just about anything that is dry. The idea is to keep the arrangement as dry as possible. We don’t want moisture to decay the flowers. I also added a dry pine cone to the arrangement and will continue to dry flowers and make one more so there will be a pair of summer bowls!

The original idea was to paint the flower bowl and my husband promised to do it for me. But since he is very busy and also summer is slipping away soon, I thought it was time to go public. After he paints the bowl, I will post a picture of the finished project.

Andddd....this is how it looks in front of our TV :)

I must also say that when you go flower plucking, please wear gloves. You never know how your skin will react to certain flowers.

If you want to experiment with the microwave, then this how you should do it:

Follow steps 1 and 2.

Then place the container (without the lid) in your microwave along with a glass of water. Dry the flower by microwaving it in incremental 30 secs. Check the flowers and if you feel they are not dry enough, push it in again. WARNING: The glass of water is getting heated up continuously. So remember to refill cold water in it every one minute. Super hot water could explode inside your microwave.

Testimonial : My husband walked in this evening and asked if I had arranged fresh flowers in the bowl! :)