DRIED FLOWERS STUDIO

Dried flowers have been making a comeback in recent years. In an arch or in a large graphic bouquet, the compositions have invaded the house, the commercial spaces and the scenography. With the craze for country style and neo-rurality, a new movement linked to this floral fashion is emerging. From now on, we produce our own dried flowers that we line in dedicated rooms, thus creating a neo-rustic atmosphere inspired by the pioneers called Prairy Style. Focus on this new fashion and our advice to start your floral production and design your own bouquets.

piece décorée de bouquets de fleurs séchées — © botanical tales

As a simple bouquet, a wreath or a gorgeous installation, dried flowers have been invading the decor for a few years now. Their timelessness, their bohemian and wild side have contributed to the revival of this floral type. Very fashionable in the 1970s, a few sprigs of dried flowers were displayed in frames or glued onto lampshades. Today, there is no more question of a few florets exhibited under a bell; the bouquets must be multiple, grandiose or even arty.

vitrine avec bouquet de fleurs séchées — © botanic tales

Florists specializing in the discipline now create veritable works that are exhibited in shops, restaurants or hotel lobbies. They become the central element of private ceremonies such as weddings and invite themselves into fashion shows. These star florists are no longer called florists but floral artists! From the United Kingdom to Japan, these experts publish dedicated books and some even have their own flower farm.

With the boom in neo-rurality and home-made, the new trend in floral decoration is to make your own bouquets of dried flowers from flowers in the garden or picked during a country walk. The Barn atmosphere is in full swing and wallpapering your attic, barn or part of the wall of your house with dozens of bouquets in a floral farmhouse atmosphere is ultra trendy. Everything must be rustic and plunge us into the atmosphere of a pioneer farm! We sow, we harvest, we dry and then we compose our own bouquets.

TUTO

First of all, you will need to create your own flower crop if you have the possibility. If you cannot harvest, you can easily get bouquets by variety from florists. Before embarking on the creation of giant compositions of the arch or chandelier type, start by making a classic bouquet or a candlestick for the most experienced. However, be generous, the larger the bouquet, the more rewarding the result!

The flowers

Overall, all flowers can be dried to compose a bouquet. It's up to you to choose according to your garden, the quality of its soil and its sunshine. For those who do not have a garden, a harvest in a pot may be suitable for a small production. Some plants are more suitable for making dried bouquets, either because they are less fragile or because they are more graphic. We recommend harvesting the following plants:

Yarrow
Allium
Cereals (wheat, barley etc.)
Thistle
Craspedia or drum stick
Eucalyptus
Grasses (bear grass, linum, pampas, canary grass, hare's tail etc.)
Gypsophila
Pigeon grass
Hydrangea
Immortals
Lavender
Limonium or Statice
Pope or lunar coinage
Poppies
Peonies

It's up to you to see the sowing date, the recommended maintenance and the flowering period depending on the varieties you have chosen

Harvest

It is important to respect the flowering periods of each variety. For example, cut lavender at the beginning of flowering before the flower dries up, while hydrangeas will be cut at the end of flowering. It is recommended to pick your plants after the dew at the end of the morning, when they are very dry.

Drying

Gather the same varieties of flowers in several small bouquets (about ten flowers per bouquet) then tie them with string without tightening the stems too much. Your bouquets must then be hung in a dark room, protected from humidity and sufficiently ventilated like an attic or a barn. You should hang them upside down and let them dry for about a month.

For a Prairy Style look, stretch ropes between your beams and hang all your small bouquets (upside down) along the ropes. You can also plant nails all along your beams and attach the bouquets to them. If you don't have beams, you can attach a gabion grid or fixed trellis to your ceiling. Another alternative, you can stretch rows of wires along a wall and attach your bouquets to them.

Composition

Your flowers are ready to be assembled into a bouquet! Sort your plants by variety then remove the lower two-thirds of the leaves from the stem. Assemble the rods together according to your creative desire. Tie the bouquet with twine, cord or ribbon. To make your bouquets last longer, you can spray a little hairspray on the flowers.

If you want to compose a very graphic bouquet, we advise you to combine all sizes and all shapes: tall grasses (pampa) with round flowers (pigeon grass), thistles and large flowers (hydrangea or peony) .

For a softer bouquet, bet on monochromy and combine vaporous and light plants such as Pope's currency, baby's breath and hare's tails.