Dried flowers are popular at all times. At the beginning of the 20th century, they were especially in demand, becoming an ornament not only for the interior, but also for ladies' hairstyles and hats. Compositions of dried flowers create a special style and remind of a unique summer. If you like to craft something with your own hands, then the idea of creating a bouquet or painting from dried flowers will appeal to you. To do this, you just need to grow suitable flowers in the garden.
Plants for dried flowers
Some plants are more suitable for drying, others less. Beginners are better off taking unpretentious dried flowers, their photo is below:
Winged ammobium,- Tsmin,
- Celosia,
- Helipterum,
- Quaking grass,
- Gelikhrizum,
- The fire is spread wide,
- Xerantemum,
- Kermek.
The listed plants can be grown without much difficulty in the middle lane. In flower arrangements, thorn plants look quite attractive and unusual: erythematosus, muzzle, teasel.
Good drying properties most cereals, see the photo. The most popular are: corn, miscanthus, maned barley, ovate haretail. They also use fragrant anthoxanthum, which has a pleasant aroma, but it looks rather nondescript.
All of the above flowers are traditional dried flowers. However, some species began to be grown to create winter compositions only recently, since earlier, when dried and stored, they became unusable, crumbled and lost their decorative effect. Modern methods of fixing the form allow you to preserve their original appearance, so the harvesting of such plants has become possible. These plants include:
- Echinacea,
- Liatris,
- Nigella Damascus,
- Amaranth,
- Clematis Tangut,
- Astilba,
- Enotera Missouri,
- Some types of decorative bow.
You should pay the reader's attention to flowers such as clematis and nigella, look at the photo, they are collected at the time of seed boll formation.
Do not think that dried flowers look bad in garden design, quite the opposite, they are often used when decorating flower beds.
If you enjoy working with dried flowers, then growing, drying and arranging bouquets and compositions can turn into a real hobby and you are unlikely to limit yourself to this list.
Growing flowers for a winter bouquet
Some weather-resistant annuals, thorns and most cereals sow before winter. Most types of heat-loving plants are planted by seedlings in warm ground. But there are those that manage to develop from seeds sown in late spring.
In order for the flowers to grow well-formed, without deformations, try to organize proper care for them. The recommendations can be found on the packaging with the seeds, there is such data in the special literature, as well as on the Internet.
It is necessary to grow dried flowers with the introduction of complex fertilizers. This will get full and abundant flowering with developed peduncles. These plant species are fed three times per season. It is not necessary to water such flowers and cereals, since most of them do not tolerate waterlogging of the earth.
Drying flowers
Based on the requirements for decorativeness, dried flowers are cut at different stages of development. For example, some are harvested when their peak flowering occurs, others when buds are forming, and still others when the seed pod opens, when the plant has gotten rid of the seeds.
It is better if the stem is left longer during cutting, since it is easier to shorten than to grow. The preparation of dried flowers for the future composition also implies the cleaning of unnecessary leaves. After that, the plants are divided into bunches, each tied and hung upside down in a well-ventilated and dry room.
So that the flower can be further painted in the desired color, you need to achieve its lightening... To do this, you need a spray bottle, spraying should be done every two days. However, the smallest atomization is required, so the mode must be set correctly. Also, instead of a spray bottle, a bottle of toilet water with a spray bottle is used.
Cereals dry out perfectly in the open air, in the sun. However, they must be protected from rain and fog. In this case, spraying should be done more often, namely, twice a day. After such manipulations, the stems and spikelets will become completely white.
If the decorative task does not include painting and discoloration, then the natural color of the plant should be preserved. To do this, you need to dry it in a very dark room, you do not need to spray. Storage continues in the dark until use.
To create panels or paintings, dried flowers are dried using a different technique, since they must adhere well to a flat surface. For this, at the stage of drying, they are given the required shape. This is done like this: flowers attached with thread or tape to unpainted wooden boards.
Before sending dried flowers for storage, they are given the desired color, special fixers and varnish are used. This further retains the applied shade, and also prevents shape changes and shedding. These drugs are purchased at flower shops.
Dried dried flowers are carefully folded into cardboard boxes, transferred with newspapers or tissue paper. Naturally, the room where the dried flowers are stored must be dry.
Compositions
Yet how interesting it is to experience the feeling associated with the completed cycle of work. After all, everything is done by hand - from planting seeds, growing, to drying and making creative compositions. Nice feeling, isn't it?
The result is very dear to you and inspires new feats... Therefore, I want the bouquet to last as long as possible. The created paintings and panels will delight you for a very long time if you place them under glass. However, they do not look the best way, somehow "museum".
What to do? Of course, if a painting is not protected from dust, it will not last long. But after a year, it will still lose its unique aroma and freshness, and after another year and aesthetic appeal. Therefore, do not store the compositions for years, because in addition to harm to health, especially if there are allergy sufferers in the house, it is simply not hygienic to store it for so long. It is better to grow a new batch of flowers and make a fresh composition to replace the old one. Since you are now an experienced designer, it will come out better than last time!
Grow dried flowers, these beautiful plants, and enjoy their beauty not only in summer, but also in winter.
Tatyana
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