One of the trends that I’ve noticed popping up is dried flower arrangements. I love drying flowers for my own arrangements, and recently dried yarrow from my garden. Now that the weather is turning colder, it’s the perfect time of year to preserve thier gorgeous petals and create stunning dried bouquets. Air-drying hydrangeas is really easy and they turn such a pretty golden color over time. They also make such a nice accent all year long ( I once decorated a Christmas tree with some). Some people like to dry them naturally in a vase of water. I personally don’t like that method because many times the hydrangea stems can go moldy.
You can also just let them dry naturally on the bush and clip them later too, but again, there’s a higher risk of them getting moldy over time.I have a fun video I put together of how to dry hydrangeas. the post below has some tips on successfully drying hydrangeas.
-Hydrangeas are considered poisonous to people and pets, and the sap can be irritating to some people, if you have concerns, always make sure to wear gloves, or wash your hands thoroughly, especially before eating and drinking, our touching your face.
-Clip the hydrangeas with a good length of stem, and remove leaves. These don’t dry super well, and just end up crumbling all over the place. The best thing is to preserve the hydrangea blooms to create wreaths and garlands.
-You can either dry them upright in a vase as a bouquet with no water, or tie them in a bundle and hang them upside down in a cool area out of direct sunlight. I prefer the vase method so I can enjoy them while they slowly change color. You can also place them in a basket and enjoy their natural beauty.
-They are going to get dusty. You can give them a gentle shake, or use a feather duster gently on them, or do what I do. When they get too dusty for me, I just throw then out, knowing there will be more next year. Dried properly, hydrangeas will last a year or two.
-Dried hydrangeas can also be spray painted fun colors like gold to add a bit of zest to arrangements.
-Individual hydrangea flowerettes off of a larger hydrangea flower head can be pressed to make dried pressed flowers. See how here.
-Different varieties of hydrangeas like Oak Leaf Hydrangeas , Pinky Winky, and Lace Cap all look different when dried, mixed bunches of different varieties are really pretty together.
If you have hydrangeas in your yard, I hope you give it a try so you can also enjoy them all year long!
