Pressing Flowers and Leaves

Q. How do I press flowers and leaves and do you have any idea which work?

A. I have pressed flowers since I was twelve. I did not have success until I got a book as a present and read it thoroughly. Boy was I off!

First pick flowers which are not 'wet ' that is not full of thick juicy petals. They have too much moisture and press poorly. Roses peonies dahlias and marigolds are such examples of what to avoid until you have refined the treatment.

Collect a lot of newspapers. Fold them so that they are in half with a thickness of maybe 5 pages. Lay your flowers on top with no edges touching. Stack layer upon layer. When you have about ten sections of flowers place a couple phone books on top or something of similar size and weight.

The problem here is that you must change the papers every other day. The wetness will lead to mold and then to brown and black colorings. It is time consuming but necessary. Keep your stack out of heat and direct light in a dry location.

Thinner flowers will dry faster. remove them and place carefully in folders. I sort by variety and color. Foliage is good to press too as you can use them to create marvelous flower pictures. I used to sell them at a gallery with lovely backgrounds and antique frames. I even glued some arrangements onto fine note card paper and sold with envelopes.

Here are good choices:

Pansy viola Johnny-jump-up delphinium tibouchina poppy alyssum lotus fern grass nut tree leaves maple oak blades single stock single geranium delphinium [except white] blue salvia [I had no success with red] single fuchsia