 |  | DIFFICULTY:  ratings key CAPTION: Use pressed flowers to create a delicate look. |
Pressing plants is a simple technique that results in a two dimensional product suitable for displaying in potpourri and under glass and for mounting on cards and labels. Flowers, leaves, vegetables, whole plants, and sea plants can be pressed with remarkable results. You can purchase pressed flowers and leaves for your creative craft projects, but they are never as nice or as varied as plants that you press yourself. Pressing flowers and foliage takes, on average, three to four weeks.
• Harvest plants in the morning after the dew has dried. Collect flowers in various stages of bloom, and leaves and buds of the plant.
• Press plants as soon as possible after harvesting to prevent wilting. Place the plants between the two absorbent, smooth sheets in the press.
• For flowers with bulky stamens, place the flowers between two sheets of thin polyester batting, then place between the absorbent layers. I have successfully dried daisy-like flowers and fleshy flowers such as lily of the valley this way.
• If you use a book for pressing, place two sheets of absorbent paper between the pages to protect the book.
• Different flowers take different times to dry. Check the press in about two weeks. The plants will not be harmed if you leave them in the press after they are dry, but you can damage them if they are removed before the drying process is complete.
• Store the pressed plants flat in labeled envelopes.
Flower presses for the microwave are easy to use, and you can create pressed flowers almost instantly. I found the color retained with the microwave press was excellent. I also was able to press thick, fleshy flowers that would be difficult to press with a standard press. The ease and quality of the pressed specimens outweighed the expense. My only regret was buying a 5" x 5" press rather than the 9" x 9" model. Follow the instructions that come with the press.
Flowers and plants suitable for pressing are: artemisia, clematis, coral bells, delphiniums, ferns, feverfew, forget-me-not's, freesia, fuchsia, herbs (flowers and leaves), hydrangea (individual blossoms), larkspur, leaves (all types), lobelia, pansies, Queen Anne's lace, sweet alyssum, violets and wild roses.
