21 Fabulous Flowers for Drying

Brighten your home by preserving flowers for dried arrangements, created with a colorful crop you've grown yourself or picked elsewhere. Or, add personality to your cards, picture frames and scrapbooks with the following beauties that are among our favorite drying flowers.

You’ll need to wear gloves to protect your hands when you’re working with the prickly globe thistle 'Blue Glow', shown above, but these flowers are striking when dried. Cut the stems from your plants after the morning dew evaporates, just before the buds are completely open, or the flowers are fully mature. They’ll usually continue to open after cutting. Tie the stems together and air dry them, upside down, in a dark, dry spot.

Strawflowers like Sundaze Blaze (Bracteantha or Xerochrysum) should be harvested before the centers of the flowers open, so there's enough moisture in the blooms to make them easy to handle. Cut the stems 12 to 15 inches long, and remove the leaves. Tie the stems together (a rubber band is good for this, as the stems tend to shrink when they dry), and hang them upside down in a dry, dark spot that gets good air circulation. They’ll be ready to use in 2 or 3 weeks.

Dried, pressed violas or pansies are great for making cards, scrapbook pages or other crafts. Pick the fresh flowers, Anytime Pansiola 'Iris' shown above, early in the day and pinch off the stems just under the blossoms. Then layer them between paper towels or blotting paper and press them under some heavy books, or use a flower press. Check every couple of weeks to see if the blooms are dry enough to remove and use.

Delicate, white baby’s breath (Gypsophila paniculata) is an excellent filler for bouquets and fresh or dried arrangements. Wait until the morning dew dries before cutting long stems just as the buds start to open. The stems will shrink over time, so use a rubber band to bundle them together, and hang them upside down for a couple of weeks. Give them good air circulation while they’re drying in a dark place.

African daises like ‘Soprano’ are "flatter" and better for pressing than very full daises. Layer the flowers between sheets of blotting paper and let them dry under books or bricks for a week or two, or dry them in a box filled with desiccant. Use the pressed blooms in crafts or frames; dried daises that retain their shape are pretty in floral arrangements or wreaths. 

Summer-flowering larkspurs are lovely in dried arrangements. Cut the stems just before the blooms are completely open and strip away the leaves. Then tie the stems together and hang them upside down for a few weeks. Keep them out of the sun and make sure they have good air circulation. If there’s a lot of moisture in the room, you may need to use a dehumidifier to help prevent mold and mildew. Shown here: 'Guardian Lavender' (Delphinum elatum).

Also called floss flower, ageratum is an annual with pink, white, violet or blue blooms. Pressing the flowers flattens them and tends to make the colors fade, so dry them in a preservative (a desiccant) instead. Lengthen the short stems with floral wire, if desired. Then remove the foliage and put the flowers facedown in the desiccant for 2 or 3 weeks. Shown here: Ageratum 'Stellar Blue'.

Most gardeners don't grow artemisia for its flowers, which are small and not at all showy. But the plants have attractive grayish-green to silvery foliage that's great for dried arrangements. Prune them in late summer and strip the leaves away from the stems. Hang the the stems upside down to dry in a well-ventilated, dark place. If you prefer, wait until the flowers appear before pruning. Artemisias make a good filler for arrangements, wreaths and swags. In the garden, the plants are stunning beside blue flowers. This variety is 'Silver Mound'.

Airy blooms in shades of blue perch atop 12- to 18-inch stems on this self-sowing annual. Love-in-a-mist — Nigella damascena — makes a lovely cut flower for fresh bouquets, or wait for round, maroon striped seedpods to form for dried arrangements. Harvest seedpods for drying when they feel papery and firm to the touch. If left too long on plants, pretty maroon tints fade. Dry pods upright or hang upside down.

If you’re saving roses from a bouquet or the garden, use flowers that have just begun to open, and hang them upside down to dry. Another option: dry your roses in a container filled with desiccant. For flattened flowers, press the roses between layers of blotting paper or newspaper. Always make sure there’s good ventilation to discourage mold.

Unlike many flowers, hydrangea blooms are better left to mature on the shrubs before they’re cut for arrangements. If you want vintage colors like antique pink or parchment white, let the flowers stay on the bushes a little longer. Then stand them upright in an empty vase to dry. For more natural colors, cut fresh flowers and dry them in silica gel. You can dye white or ivory hydrangea blooms; follow the directions for the dye product you choose. This variety is 'Limelight.'

Snip lavender stems after the morning dew has dried and hang them upside down, in bundles, in an airy, dark place. If you plan to use the buds in potpourris or crafts, gently use your fingers to take them off the stems and let the buds dry on a flat surface.

Centaurea cyanus 'Classic Fantastic' is an early-season bloomer that makes a perfect partner for corn poppy. Also known as bachelor’s buttons, cornflower is a self-sowing annual that just can’t stop forming flowers. You’ll have plenty for picking and bringing indoors. This variety boasts a blend of blue and silver shades.

Warm orange blooms perch atop ferny foliage on this signet marigold. Tagetes tenuifolia 'Tangerine Gem' grows 8 inches tall and is a butterfly magnet in the garden. These flowers make a bright addition to dried arrangements. Harvest blossoms for drying as soon as they’re fully open. Dry individual blooms in silica gel or air dry by hanging upside down in bunches.

Eye-catching green bells form along 2-foot-tall, minty-scented stems. Harvest Bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis) when bells are nearly fully opened; they open more after picking. If you can see the small white or lavender true bloom in the center of the bell, you’re picking too late. Hang stems upside down in bunches to dry. Handle carefully; stems have small thorns. Dried blooms are fragile and easily shatter, use care when working with them.

Statice (Limonium sinuatum) has lovely papery bracts in a rainbow of hues, including purple, pink, blue, white and rose. Plants grow to 18 inches tall in average garden soil. Harvest stems when papery bracts are fully colored. If you can see small white flowers peeking from bracts, you’re picking too late. Hang stems upside down in bunches to dry.

Grow this striking salvia (Salvia viridis) for its eye-catching papery blooms that look fantastic in the garden or indoors. Deer dislike this beauty, so it's a good choice for partnering with plants they love, like roses. Give this salvia a sunny to partly-shaded spot. Plants reach 18 to 24 inches tall.

Count on creeping zinnia (Sanvitalia procumbens) to add an airy element to fresh-from-the-garden bouquets. This is a short grower, reaching only 6 to 10 inches high, but stems trail to 24 inches, creating ample opportunities for snipping blooms. Flowers resemble miniature black-eyed Susans. This heirloom hails from Mexico and was introduced to gardens in 1798.