How You Can Preserve Cut Flowers
You can preserve the fresh beauty of flowers for years in their natural vivid colors without a great deal of work or expense.
Simply mix a combination of four parts of borax to one part of silica gel. You can make your mixture by hand; the borax should be run through a sieve before mixing with the gel to remove any lumps.
You should treat all of the flowers to be preserved immediately after picking. Cut off the stems close to the base of the flower. In the bottom of a plastic bag or an air-tight jar put down a layer of the preserving powder and lay a blossom face down on the powder. Pour some additional powder over the flower until it is well covered. Then lay another flower face down and cover it, repeating the procedure until the bag or jar is full. Put on your lid, or if using a bag, press down on it lightly to squeeze out all the air. Tie the bag tightly with string as close to the contents as possible to prevent air from coming in.
Now put your flowers and powder mixture away in a dry place for about four weeks without peeking at it. Never store it out of doors.
At the end of the four weeks, open the container very gently and remove the blossoms one at a time, blowing the powder off them. You may make a stem by running a piece of florist's wire through the lower side of each blossom. Now you have preserved flowers in their garden freshness.
A good method of prolonging the life of cut flowers is to put a small amount of ammonium chloride, potassium nitrate, sodium carbonate or camphor in the water into which the flower stems are inserted. One or more of these drugs will keep the flowers fresh by working to oppose germ growth and stimulate the cells. This method is, however, not permanent like the borax and gel solution.
Preserving flowers can help you save your memories of a wedding corsage or a gift bouquet forever.
Related Articles
Crafts for Tots
Mix a few drops of food coloring to a small amount of liquid starch.
How to Transfer Photos to Other Objects
You can transfer a photo or snapshot from a negative onto wood, cloth, paper, etc. All printing is done from the negative not from the photo. Prepare two simple solutions as follows:
How to Preserve Old and Brittle Newspaper Clippings
Dissolve 1 milk of magnesia tablet in 1 quart of club soda.
How to Change the Coloring of Cut Flowers
To change white carnation-type petals to green, stand the long-stemmed flowers in water containing a green aniline dye. Other suitable aniline dyes may be used to achieve colored stripes on white flowers.
How You Can Dry Flowers and Wax Fresh Flowers
You can enjoy the freshness of a flower garden throughout the year by cutting and drying your favorite flowers. The two easiest and least expensive methods are sand-drying and air-drying.
Sachets
Combine 2 cups of rose leaves with 1-3/4 cups vetiver root, 1-1/2 cups patchonly herb and 3/4 cup mace. Fill little cotton bags with the mixture and tie with a ribbon.
Egg Writing
Dissolve 1/2 ounce of alum into 1/2 pint of vinegar. Dip a fine tipped brush into the solution and write your message on the shell of an egg. Let dry completely; then boil for 15 minutes.
How You Can Preserve and Make Novelties from Leaves
Place the leaves in a pan and cover them with dry, hot sand. Allow this to cool. Remove the leaves and smooth them with a hot iron. Dip them in colorless varnish and let them dry.