Air drying Wedding flowers

Flowers can be air dried by hanging them in upside down in bunches in a dark, dry place such as a attic, furnace room or closet. Limit bunches to no more than ten flowers to avoid having the stems or flowers mildew. Plants should be completely dry in a week to ten days.

Dry delicate flowers in sand

Put an inch or so of sand into the bottom of a shoe box or a container of similar depth (but not plastic). Use only clean, dry, sifted sand not salty ocean sand or clay kitty litter..

Cut the stems of flowers short; foliage can sit flat on the sand. Scoop a shallow depression in the sand and carefully set the flower or plant into it face-up. Mold the sand to support the underside of the flower in its natural position. Trickle sand over the entire blossom until the flower is covered by an inch or two of sand. Sand-dried flowers can dry in five or six days but thicker plants may require a week to ten days.

Pressing separate flowers and leaves

Relatively flat flowers, along with leaves can be pressed. Put about four sheets of newspaper on a flat, hard surface where the plants can dry undisturbed for several weeks. Open a large book and lay the plant parts in between two sheet of paper towels. Make sure one plant doesn’t touch another. Close the book making sure the stems don't move. Place the book on it's side and add a few large books on it to weigh it down. This process could take a couple of weeks or more.

The resulting plants can be used in dried flower wreaths, on cards or wood plaques. Keep dried plants away from humidity and bright sunlight.