Dreamy dried flowers - seed to shop
How it all starts
Let me tell you a story….. When I was growing up, family holidays were often spent driving through France until we found the sun and somewhere to pitch our tent. Wherever we ended up, we always loved to go to the local “marché” where most teenage girls would spend their pocket money on a revealing bikini or trendy jewellery… not me. I headed straight for the market stall selling dried flowers and bought as many as I dared to get home safely. Dried Flowers were very “in'' during the ‘80s …… 40 years on and I still have a soft spot for them. It’s a small part of my business but a useful add-on during the winter months.
Like most fashions, the appetite for everlasting florals has gone full circle. This together with a new generation of sustainably and environmentally aware noughties has driven interest and demand. Everlasting flowers and seed heads tick so many boxes; long lasting, inspire creativity, locally grown, colourful, varied, textural, photogenic, adaptable, reusable, natural and easy to post.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my beautifully scented, freshly cut British flowers but they don’t start blooming until late spring/early summer and stop growing in the winter. Having a selection of carefully, naturally preserved flower stems to satisfy my creative itch is a blessing in the darker winter months.
The flowers I grow and use for drying
When the first seed catalogues drop through the letterbox, I make sure some on my wishlist are described as “flowers good for drying”and that I order a variety of flower types and colours and the predicted stem length needs to be at least 50 cm so I can also use them fresh. Seed sowing takes place from Feb to May with flowers expected from June to late summer depending on the variety and when it was sown.
During the summer I use everything for fresh flower work wherever possible. Any surplus flowers which are suitable for drying are as perfect as those I use for fresh flower work and are cut and conditioned in exactly the same way:
cut flowers early in the morning
Strip stems of leafy/green material below the water line
Place straight into scrupulously clean buckets of cold water
Leave to have a good drink overnight in a cool place
Dried flower FAQ’s
1. Can they be posted?
Yes. As long as they have plenty of biodegradable packaging and handled well by the courier.
2. How long will dried flowers last?
A darn site longer than fresh flowers! Months rather than days. However, they are delicate and should be treated with a certain amount of respect.
3. Will they fade and get more fragile?
Dried flowers are a natural product. The greater the exposure to UV the quicker they fade and after a few months they will become brittle. The textures and colours become more interesting and muted over time.
4. Do you dye your flowers?
No. I aim to keep my work and colours as natural as possible without the use of chemicals.
5. Will they get dusty and cobwebby?
That depends where you put them, how long they’re there and how houseproud you are. A few stems in a small vase would be easy to manage. Take them outside and give them a gentle shake and you’re good to go. Similarly dried flower wreaths. A gentle controllable blast with a hairdryer should do the trick. It goes without saying the big installations in my house never go near a hoover or hairdryer and end up staying there far longer than planned (up to 2 years). I embrace the wildlife that take up residence!
6. How easy and quick are they to arrange?
It depends! Dried flower stems are thinner and more delicate than their fresh big sisters (due to the dehydration process) Popping a few dried flowers and grasses into some vintage bottles with narrow necks is easy peasy. For something wider, like a jam jar or small vase, the White Wave Clay Co has a quick and easy flower holder which works well for dried flowers (and fresh flowers). For larger vases - I use hidden but secure mechanics (such as a bundle of sticks, or a chicken wire bundle) and twiggy bits within the arrangement to provide support.
7. Are they compostable?
Yes. Dried flower wreaths can be popped in a bush or tree for birds to poke around in, otherwise, put spent stems on the compost heap. It is perfectly safe as long as the grower doesn’t use chemicals to grow them or artificial dyes. I don’t use either!
Store, online dried flower shop and delivery
If truth be told, the “dried flower store” is our spare bedroom. Even if I did have a flower shop or workshop (which I don’t) these are often cold and damp - who’d be a florist!!! In my experience, flowers will soon go mouldy in these conditions
Just to re-fresh, my spare room fills up over the summer with stacked and alphabetically labeled boxes of dried flowers. I can easily find what I’m looking for when an order comes in.
The dried flower sales process is relatively simple for me and the consumer (I hope). Thanks to the new website, skillfully revamped by Vicki of Blumango Creative, with just a few clicks, customers can easily order a selection of dried flower products online and I can get cracking on package and delivery.
Using a stock of recycled cardboard boxes and unbleached tissue for wrapping together with eco friendly parcel wrap tape I aim to be as eco friendly and sustainable as possible. Thanks to Royal Mail’s click and collect service, my lovely postman Justin collects the parcel on his normal delivery round (avoiding yet another white van or car journey) and customers should get their dried flowers within 2-3 working days.
I hope this blog explains some of the behind the scenes work that goes into getting the dried flowers to point of sale. It is a long time from growing to preserving, storing and delivering each bunch of everlasting flowers but a job that I love and appreciate at every stage. If you’re curious to know more than don’t hesitate to email fiona@cotswold-country-flowers.co.uk