This idea also comes from my daughter.  She is loving the spring flowers and the time we are getting in nature together each day.  She had the idea that we could pick a few of the spring wildflowers we see on our walks and press them and create a display of them to hang in the house.  We just happen to have a glass frame lying around so that is where they will live.  I love this idea and I love that this will hang on our wall and remind us of the gifts of this strange and unprecedented time.  Thanks again Tegan.

Pressing Flowers 

You will need:

• a selection of flowers, wild or otherwise
• blotting paper (or paper towel, paper napkins, tissue, or similar if you do not have blotting paper)
• a flower press (or a stack of heavy books)
• a glass frame (you can get these for under a tenner from many online retailers if you do not have one at home or just press your flowers for now and plan to frame them when life returns to a something that more resembles normal.)

Head out on your walk and carefully choose a few flowers to press.  Please only pick what you need and never take all of what is growing.  A few carefully chosen flowers collected will not be detrimental for our lovely pollinators but clearing an area of flowers will.

Place your flowers between layers of blotting paper and then put into your flower press or in between the first and second book in your stack of heavy books.  You will need to leave the flowers for a while to dry properly but do check them every few days and replace the paper if it is getting too moist (this will help the flowers dry faster and stop them from moulding).

Leave your press for a couple of weeks (2-4) before arranging your flowers in the glass frame.  After you have an arrangement that you are happy with you may want to put a small drop of glue on each flower as you arrange them on the glass to help them stay in place.

Do send us photos of you pressing your flowers and post them on our social media we are on Facebook, twitter and/or instagram

Happy pressing!

April