Flowers, whether sold in floral arrangements or grown in your own garden, don’t last forever. The confetti masses of hillside flowers will eventually fade away, covered by snowdrifts.
However, there are many uses for flowers that don’t just involve flower arrangements. Nowadays, dried flowers seem to have fallen out of favor, but drying remains a salient way to preserve their fleeting beauty; the moisture is sucked out, leaving a delicate, tempered framework.
As always, when selecting which flowers to incorporate into handiwork, make sure that they are not toxic, especially if they are to come into contact with skin. A roomy bag to contain your harvest is essential – this garden bag is perfect for storing tools, flower stalks, water, and anything else you need for a day out in the garden.
1. Make Pigment from Flowers
Surprisingly beautiful colors can be extracted from the petals of flowers – shades of ultramarine, violet, and magenta. Common flowers from which ink can be extracted include marigolds, morning glories, and poppies. Experiment with additives like vinegar and salt to alter the shade of the pigment.
Steps:
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Pick enough petals to fill a small glass jar.
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Pour boiling water sparingly over the petals until they are covered.
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Using a wooden popsicle stick, mix the petals in the water.
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Sprinkle in baking soda (an alkaline) to intensify the color, or add in lemon juice, an acid, to dilute it.
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You can either dip into the mixture with a paintbrush or shift through it for a cleaner application.
2. Make Soap with Flowers
Soapmaking has come a long way from using animal fat and lye, which had little to no added fragrance. Modern homemade soaps often utilize a variety of herbs and flowers for texture, fragrance, and color. As flower petals have a tendency to turn brown when stirred into the soap mixture, refrain from mixing them in. Herbs are more commonly used, with lemon balm, sage, and parsley being popular choices. A list of recommended flowers to use includes rose, lavender, calendula, and cornflowers – these will keep their color if sprinkled on top of the soap.
3. Use Them in Journaling
An easy way to incorporate dried flowers without intensive undertaking entails pressing them into the pages of a journal. Journaling isn’t just about jotting down your inner thoughts (which can admittedly be unenjoyable) – many people use them for nature journaling or art purposes. Journaling can be a therapeutic process that unlocks creative potential. Heavily associated with scrapbooking, dried flowers lend a sense of nostalgia and beauty that lasts forever. You can keep the flowers loose or affix them to the page using glue or tape.
4. Make Your Own Candles
Flowers also serve a decorative purpose in DIY candles. While they won’t add in any scent, they do contribute an artisan quality to the candle. Given the minimal flammable material, they also won’t pose much of a fire risk. Consider adding in crystal points, either natural or dyed to achieve an iridescence, for a dazzling twist.
5. Dry Seed Heads
An underrated material for crafting or display are seed heads – poppy seeds, alliums, and bunny tail grasses all have a rustic charm that looks great when dried. Let the seedheads dry on their own before snipping them off with pruning shears or a hori hori knife.
6. Edible Flowers
It might seem absurd to munch on a dandelion out in the wild, but edible flowers, when used properly, can drastically enhance a dish. Freeze flower petals into ice cubes for a simple garnish, or in the case of butterfly peas, add them into lemonade to shift the color to a beautiful violet.
7. Make Rose Water
Making rosewater is surprisingly easy: all you need are rose petals, distilled water, and a spray bottle. If you don’t have a flourishing rose garden, you can pick them from public gardens. You will likely need a larger quantity, as DIY rosewater is weaker in dilution than commercial ones. Rosewater can be added to cocktails, as a moisturizer, or drizzled into desserts.
8. Create Flower Petal Beads
Rose petals can also be used to make beads. By cooking the petals with flour and molding them into doughy balls, you’ll have several clay-like beads that can be strung into a bracelet. The outcome is a spherical, lumpy texture similar to lava stone. Avoid using yellow roses, as it often results in an unpleasant, brown color.
9. Make a Wreath
Wreaths are often seen as stuffy home décor, collecting dust, but they can actually add a touch of seasonal charm when dried flowers are used. Lavender, in particular, is a welcoming change from the usual dull browns and evergreens that form the bulk of Christmas wreaths. It also emits a wonderful fragrance that fills the room.
10. Make Homemade Paper
If you enjoy the texture of old parchment, why not recreate it by making your own? By repurposing scrap paper such as egg cartons and newspaper (egg carton is recommended for the texture), you can create your own paper using a few materials, including a blender and a paper screen. The result is a textured, earthy surface ideal for ink work and watercolors, evoking a romantic fantasy aesthetic.
11. Compost Them
Finally, feed your leftover flowers to your compost bin, continuing the cycle of life. While store-bought flowers may contain chemical sprays that leave a residual effect, those grown in your garden are generally safe. If you’re vermicomposting, the worms will break down the organic matter, which includes withered flowers.
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