Making Valentines Day Last
February 15th, 2006 Posted in Wedding Planning and Ideas
Yesterday one billion cards were delivered, flowers were sent, and tons of text messages were pecked-out wishing loved ones a Happy Valentines Day.
Now that February 15th is here, your cards are probably on the dresser about to go in a shoebox (unless you throw them away and shame on you if you do!) and you have probably saved those text messages (at least until your mailbox fills up).
But what about the flowers?
Without any additional care, they will stay in bloom for a few more days, maybe as long as a week.
I have 2 ecuadorian pink roses proudly displayed on my desk and I am wondering how much longer I can enjoy their fragrance and bloom.
I aim to enjoy them much longer than the norm.
There are many ways you can preserve flowers for years to come. Some of the methods include hanging, glycerine or pressing. You can also use a drying agent to preserve them. There are a variety of drying methods; home-made recipes, silica gel, or even your microwave on a low setting.
The most common way to preserve is air-drying. Here are some basic rules for drying flowers.
Divide the flowers into small bunches to avoid crowding or crushing. The stems of the flowers can be tied together with twine, wire, pipe cleaners, rubber bands, or anything that will hold them securely yet not break the stems. Hang the flowers from a nail driven into an attic rafter, along the wall of a closet, from coat hangers suspended from a crossbar, from a clothesline or from a self-supporting drying rack.
The air drying process may take up to 2 weeks depending on the moisture and temperature of the room. Once your flowers are completely dried, they can be displayed in a vase once again or hung from a pretty ribbon for a cozy-cottage decoration.