How to Preserve Flowers With Sand

You can use plain river sand for drying and preserving flowers. The trick is to lay the flowers on a bed of sand, then sift more sand over the blossoms very gently.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Floral Tape
• Garden Shears
• Sand
• Craft Wire

1. Select and pick fully opened flowers from your garden in the early morning hours.

2. Remove the stems 1 inch from the base of the petals.

3. Prepare a drying box by filling it 1/4 full of dry river sand.

4. Place the blossoms on the sand with the blooms facing up.

5. Sift more river sand gently over the blossoms until all the petals are covered.

6. Place the box in a warm, dry area with maximum air circulation.

7. Leave the flowers in the sand for five days.

8. Check the blossoms. If they are not yet dry, gently sift the sand back over all the petals after inspection. Check daily until flowers are dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Once the flowers are dry, store them in open boxes so that air can circulate around them. A bed of plastic foam peanuts makes a good support for flowers in open boxes.
• Wire the stems and wrap with floral tape if you desire long stems in your dried flower displays.
• Some flowers that can be dried successfully in sand are roses, yarrow, zinnia, larkspur, anemone, delphinium, peony, statice, bridal wreath, lavender, rudbeckia, sunflower and gomphrena.

[Stephany]

on 2/22/2007 I've understood that sand from saltwater is best for freserving flowers. I use sand from the beaches of the Great Salt Lake (Utah). Perhaps the salt preserves the color better???

on 11/22/2005 Prespray with floral color before putting in the sand. There's a good book available: "The Wonderful World of Flower Preservation."