Giving Your Flower Arrangements a New Lease of Life

There is no disputing that flower bouquets make for a wonderful gift for loved ones, and yourself, of course. Yet, even the best florist can’t make your fresh flowers live forever, so what do you do once they are past their best. The obvious answer is to throw them away, but what if you could give your flower arrangements a new lease of life once they have outlived their initial use? Discover how you can preserve and reuse your beautiful blooms and enjoy their aesthetic for longer.

Press Your Flowers

This method of preservation can only be done on flowers that have not dried out, as dried flowers will crack and break apart. You will, therefore, need to catch your flowers just before they wilt and become unusable for this method. To press your flowers, you will need parchment paper and several heavy books or other flat weighted objects. Arrange the flowers on a piece of parchment paper in any way you like then place another piece of parchment paper on top. On top of this, place several heavy books. After around two weeks your flowers should be sufficiently pressed. If they are still fresh-looking, they will need to be pressed again, and left for a further couple of days. Once pressed, the flowers can be used on greetings cards or to make pretty pictures you can hang in your home. If you are uncertain that you will get the method right the first time and don’t want to trial it with flowers delivered from a loved one, purchase some cheap flowers and try it out first.

Potpourri

When your flowers are past the stage that they can be pressed, potpourri is the answer. To make your potpourri you will need dried flowers and essential oils, and clay, ceramic bowl or container in which to put the potpourri. Although you do want to use dried flowers for this, you don’t want the flowers to be so dry that they fall apart completely, so check them before you start the process. When adding the essential oils to the dried flowers, use just a few drops so the aroma does not become overpowering. Potpourri makes for a lovely present, so purchase a few cotton bags that tie at the top and fill each with the newly made potpourri to give to friends and family.

Preparing Your Flowers

Before you attempt to preserve your flowers either for potpourri or to press, ensure you prepare them properly. This means checking the petals for any creepy crawlies as you don’t want then included in your finished product. Use the best-looking flowers that are free from mould or mildew. One of the best flower petals to use for either product is the rose petal. These are large and less prone to breaking. They are also extremely pretty. When removing the petals from stems, do so carefully, being mindful to remove the entire petal rather than ripping pieces of petals from the flower.

Tell Your Friends

When you have flowers delivered, why not include some instructions of how best to preserve the flowers once they have outlived their life in a vase? This is a great way to ensure your gift lasts for longer and your friend or relative will love that you have given them some ideas about how to keep their beautiful flowers around for longer than they expected. When you order flowers from an online florist you are often prompted to leave a  so include your tips here or simply include a link to this very handy blog.