By George Wallace

Flowers are lovely and are refreshing to look at. They make good ornaments and decorations, but just that like any other plant, they wither and die soon. To make flowers last longer and preserve them, try drying them.

Harvest flowers in the morning. Mornings prove to be the best time to gather flowers for your project. Once you have harvested them or cut their stems, what you need to do is to bundle the flowers together with the use of rubber bands. It is best that once flowers are picked, they should be kept away from sunlight. The best flowers to harvest are the ones, which have not completely bloomed – or those that are just about to open. The reason for this is that flowers will continue to open as they undergo the process of drying. This ensures that you preserve healthy looking flowers that hold up and avoid having the petals fall off.

Air drying flowers. One of the conventional ways of preserving flowers is by air drying them. In this process, the flower bundles are kept upside down with the use of a wire and stored in a cool, dark place. They may be hung on ceilings or walls. Just make sure that there is enough spacing in between bundles of flowers so that air may properly circulate. The usual time period for hanging flowers is about 15 to 20 days. The duration will vary depending on the flower being dried. Make sure to check dryness by looking at the insides of the flower.

Drying flowers using sand. It is best to use sand as a drying agent as long as it is clean, dry, fine and free of salt. Take measures on sifting the sand to free it from soil and other particles. Sand may also be rinsed several times in water to clean it. It can then be dried using the oven. Put in a pan and bake it at 250 degrees for roughly around 30 minutes. Once done, you may then place the dried sand in a container and dig a hole in the middle where you will then place the head of the flower. Put more sands on the side using your hands and sprinkling them on top to cover and supports the flower.

Taking Care of Dried Flowers. Dried flowers can be kept and maintained by using a feather duster to dust it off lightly. A blower is an alternative to this but make sure that the settings are placed at the lowest.

Keeping Dried Flowers in Storage. Should you like to store your dried flowers, it is best to wrap it using a newspaper and keep it inside a box made of cardboard. It is best to store away the boxes in a place where the temperature is average and is neither too hot nor too cold.

Making dried flowers is a fun project to engage in. They can be made as gift giveaways or be used as decorative ornaments in the house. The process of drying flowers is relatively simple. Once you learn how to do it, it can be quite addictive.