String, a dark cupboard and three weeks of patience. The simple way to keep a bouquet you cannot bear to throw out.
Some bouquets deserve a second life. A wedding bunch, a birthday surprise, the first flowers in a new home. Drying them is easier than it looks.
Start early
Dry flowers while they still look good, not once they have drooped. Day three or four in the vase is about right.
Bunch and hang
Strip the leaves, tie small bunches with twine and hang them upside down. Smaller bunches dry faster and keep their shape.
Dark, dry and airy. A cupboard beats a sunny window every time.
Wait three weeks
Light fades colour, so choose somewhere dim with a little airflow. The stems are ready when the petals feel like paper and the stalk snaps cleanly.
What dries well
Roses, lavender, eucalyptus, statice and most grasses dry beautifully. Tulips, lilies and other fleshy flowers mostly do not, so press a few petals instead.
Looking after them
Keep dried flowers out of direct sun and away from steam. Dust them now and then with a hairdryer on its coolest, lowest setting. Treated kindly, they will last for years.
