Drying Sedum flowers : the results

Garden updates , , 5 Comments

Thank you for your patience.

Yep. That is the sort of thing one ought to say after almost two weeks without news.

I have been travelling.

More anon.

First of all I must report back on my autumn experiment.

Can one dry sedum flowers? Or are they even flowers? Probably bracts.

And I wanted to give you a quick summary. I tried the lot.

Picked and plonked in water.

Picked and preserved in a solution of glycerine and water.

Picked and dried.

Picked and dried upside down in the dark.

Picked and dried upside down in the light.

Here is the result…..

Drum roll please.

Nothing works.

Nothing works well enough to make me want to try again.

Here are the flowers that were dried in a dark room. Quite bleached of colour. Except for the dead black fly in the vases.

Here are the ones in the mix of glycerine and water. In the potting shed, so with a bit more light.

Note tremendously happy black fly. And manky water.

I can’t even contemplate picking up the slimy stems to now flip them upside down to dry.

The least worst tip is to do them upside down in the light.

No water, no black fly.

But I can’t say they make a stellar sight. No matter how hard you try.

They just aren’t worth the effort.

So I would say – photograph like mad when they are in flower.

Cram them into every single bouquet when you can.

And leave them to fade gracefully in the garden.

And wait until autumn next year for their glorious rose madder hue.

Gad, I really wished they worked.