LIFESTYLES,

HERBS, POTPOURRI AND CRAFTS

id flowers preserve

MY WIFE’S new-found passion for herbs, potpourri, and
crafts involving dried flowers acts as the motivating spark

for this article.

I am really quite proud of the
lovely work she has done: decora-
ting wreaths and potpourri baskets
with attractive arrangements of
dried flowers and herbs. (That
should allow me a few more foot-
ball Sundays.)

year. If you would like to try it
here are a few things to consider.

Whether it be herbs or flowers,
most of the plants that are good
candidates for drying are best
grown in sunny, well drained
sites,

over the

garden gate

It all started when she tied a
selection of herbs to a_ small
grapevine wreath and offered them
as a shower gift to a friend. Since
then, she has drawn inspiration
from craft books, craft stores and
crafty salespeople.

Now I can’t get in my basement
for fear of stepping on drying
bouquets of hydrangeas. ‘

My tool shed has Jong since
become a herb and flower drying
house. And I have come to the
point where life would be over as I
know it if I were to throw out
some faded flowers from the
garden,

SUMMER HARVESTED

Actually, it is nice to see the
bounty of spring and summer
harvested and utilized in a way
that brings pleasure throughout the

Geoff Tobiasson

There are always a few excep-
tions, but the majority will hold
their color and fragrance better
when toughened by sun and drier
conditions,

I hate to admit that sun is not
always readily available here on
the North Shore. If it’s not the
clouds, it’s the neighbor’s house or
trees. But we can do something
about drainage problems.

Try removing eight to 12 inches
of soil from the problem area.
Spread four inches of washed, fill
sand and dig it in to a depth of
eight inches, Replace the previous-
ly removed soil.

This should work in those areas
where the soil is slow to drain. If
the area is wet most of the time
field drains may be required. These
would carry excess water away to a
storm drain or a sump.

If the area is always wet and you

can’t channel the water away from
the area, build raised beds.

The theory being, if you can’t
lower the water table, raise the soil
level. Twelve inches should suffice,
but it would be wise to add at least
two inches of fill sand at the bot-
tom.

Feed plants designed for craft
use high phosphorus and potassi-
um based fertilizers. These will in-
crease the aromatic properties of
the herbs and the abundance of
flowers.

If you would like to make your
own potpourri, collect flowers that
are in their prime and soon to fall.

Roses are excellent examples
because the petals would soon fall
to the ground and be lost. This
way you can enjoy:their color and
even the fragrance for some time
to come. ;

There are literally hundreds. of
flowers that wou'd make good
candidates for potpourri; they
need not all have fragrant capabili-
ties. Most are used to supply color.
Drying the petals is the tricky bit.

Some, such as the strawflower
(helichrysum), are ready to use
right off the. plant.

Others require special drying
procedures and treatments.

Dry the petals in thin layers.
Too thick and they will rot. The
use of orris powder or gum ben-
zoin can ‘fix’ the colors, making
them brighter and longer lasting.

QUICK-DRY PETALS

If you wish to use some of the
petals from the more delicate
flowers, quick-dry them in a stan-
dard dehydrator. If you don’t have
a dehydrator, try a few short
bursts in the microwave.

Some of the useful scented
flowers include chamomile, hya-

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11 - Fridzy, October 14, 1988 - North Shore News

cinths, freesia, jasmine, peonies,
pinks, roses, and the tuberose.

Plants such as lavender,
rosemary, and certain geraniums
offer scented foliage that have
become favorites in potpourri.
Spices such as allspice, anise, cin-
namon, cloves, etc. are also used.

You can ‘fix’ these perfumes
and give them staying power with
the help of orris root or gum ben-
zoin.

You may wish to add a few
drops of various essential oils to
your mixture to ‘round out’ your
bouquets or introduce hard-to-find
scents.

Herbs and dried flowers are rap-
idly joining the list of varied mate-
rials that the craftsperson uses to
make some very imaginative and
charming creations.

If you are to be successful in
saving your herbs and some of the
wild and cultivated flowers in the

garden, you must learn to dry-

them properly. I have already
mentioned the quick-dry method,
but some plants do not take kindly

LIFESTYLES

len year- round

to this.

Some herbs, as an example,
prefer to be dried slowly in warm,
dry, dark environments.

I can attest to the suitability of
cedar garden sheds, but you had
best find another spot to store
your garden tools.

Take your cuttings at the most
appropriate time (it varies from
plant to plant), getting us long a
stem as possible. Tie these cuttings
up in bundles of 10 or 12 and hang
them upside down in your selected
location.

Once your herbs and flowers
have dried, you can work them in-
to wire or grape vine wreaths, set
them into beds of Spanish moss
around baskets of potpourri, or a
myriad of other uses.

A trip to the library will supply
you with some great ideas for
craftworks that make good use of
the materials you can collect from
the garden. It might be a little late
for many things, but there are still
many plants out there that have a
lot to offer.

COLDEN TOUCH

ER FE

ORS