Dried Flowers

I am constantly amazed at the beautiful flowers in Ashe County.  When you live in Florida you are very limited on what you can plant outside as the heat kills most plants, so I am in awe of what you can plant in North Carolina.  Wildflowers start blooming in the spring and continue until the frost of autumn.  Yards are full of roses, hydrangeas, black-eyed susans, lilacs, and so many others I don't know the names of.  This year I thought I would try drying the flowers I find along the sides of the road, down by the river, in our neighbor's yard, as well as my own blooms.  I made cuttings and brought them home and laid them out on newspaper on top of the counter.  I wrapped a few flowers together using yarn and hung them upside down in the cellar and one of our closets.  You have to watch for bugs as they hide in the flowers.

After a few weeks they were ready to be taken down and saved.  Dried flowers aren't easy to work with as they fall apart and are messy.  After some trial and error, you can create beautiful displays that can be used for gifts or decorating.

My creations