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When winter has settled on our doorstep and blinding white snow fills the field outside my bedroom window, it is easy to forget the thrill of a vibrant bouquet of fresh flowers on the kitchen table. The muted tones of the season lend themselves to quiet reflection, but also a deep sense of emptiness that can set in with no notice if we leave it unchecked.

It is the time of year where Jeff and I find ourselves drowsy and full, disoriented by the lack of sunlight in the afternoons and finding the effort to keep awake to be challenging. But this year, I promised myself, would be different. This year, I would have flowers in winter.

A plan set in motion last March, when I set seeds into soil blocks underneath the grow light in the cold basement. A plan for eternal, dried flower blooms that would last far longer than the warm summer days in which they would stretch and grow and bloom. This is the story of strawflower and statice, poppies and cornflower, aster and lavender. While their scent may fade, the colors we miss so much in deep winter continue on in a vivid show that defies the passage of time.

Best flowers for drying

An endless variety of flower seeds will leave you feeling overwhelmed as you begin to flip through the catalogs and plan which flowers you’d like to grow for drying. However, with a few simple tricks you can easily set your sights on the best flowers to dry for eternal blooms. My first piece of advice is to ensure you receive the Fedco seed catalog each year - in fact, this is the best place to begin all your garden planning, not just flowers. The reason I suggest Fedco over others is twofold - firstly, you’ll be shopping high quality, non-gmo seed from a private source that isn’t just another subsidiary for Monsanto. Second, it is really a misnomer to call the Fedco book a catalog since the vast amount of educational information contained within really qualifies it as more of a book or guide. A free one at that! This is because the folks at Fedco have gone out of their way to provide useful charts and more to help guide you in your seed selection process. One chart in particular will be useful to us now, and that is the chart denoting the different forms and functions of all the flower seeds available for purchase. You’ll find this chart at the very beginning of the flower section. And no, this isn’t an advertisement for Fedco - just an honest recommendation from a fellow gardener who has utilized this tool for years.

It’ll make more sense once you have the chart in front of you, but there will be a column ticked off just for those flowers which dry well. This is an excellent place to begin making a list of all the possibilities before you do further research.

Don’t want to wait for the catalog to arrive? Here’s what I grew in 2022 for my dried flower garden:

Lavender

A favorite for many reasons, lavender is one of the few dried flowers which will retain its pleasant fragrance after drying. I have lavender bunches from a year ago that still smell incredible if you give them a quick squeeze to release the essential oils within. Known for its calming effects on the nervous system, lavender is an incredibly therapeutic plant to grow. Being a woody shrub however, it is also one of the more difficult ones to grow from seed on this list. You’ll want to do research on how this Mediterranean plant will fare in your own climate, and learn the best pruning techniques to keep it in tip-top shape. Once dried, the delicate purple flowers will make an excellent addition to any arrangement. I like to keep bunches of lavender on my bedroom windowsill.

Strawflower

This eternal bloom is a must for flower crowns and wreaths of all sizes. Strawflower has a long growing season and produce a huge amount of stems. We were picking strawflower all the way up to our first frost. The trick with cutting strawflower to dry is to cut at just the right stage of blooming - too early and the bud won’t open enough as it dries, too late and the blossom will open so far once it has dried that it will be barely recognizable, almost turning inside-out. To time it right, cut when the stem is no longer very wobbly when shaken and only 2-3 bracts of petals are open. This way, as the bloom dries the petals can expand outwards but still leave the very center intact and slightly closed. Strawflower is fun to tuck within an arrangement, but due to the stems tending to dry with bends and curves it is easier to use shorter pieces within a circular craft.

Statice

The variety of color within the purple family you can achieve with statice is remarkable. From our plot, we harvested rich magenta, pale pink, deep amethyst, bright white and even butter yellow blooms. Somehow all of these shades complimented each other perfectly, and made creating an arrangement simple. The long stems go rigid with drying, standing perfectly upright and straight for a large vase arrangement. The tiny individual blossoms are compact and generous, making for a full bouquet. But the best part of statice is in it’s longevity; I had fellow gardeners tell me they have bouquets of dried statice that were ten years old and still preserved their beautiful coloring.

Poppies

Fresh poppies are notoriously difficult as a cut flower - picked at the wrong moment, they “shatter” in the vase, dropping all their petals dramatically within hours. Truthfully, I was only ever able to get the timing right a couple of times last season - they must be picked in the early morning hours, just after blooming, and immediately placed in water. Their stems also leak an unforgiving bright yellow sap that will permanently stain your favorite gardening clothes without a care (ask me how I know). So I found poppies to be best enjoyed fresh in the garden itself, however, the dried seed pods that begin to pop up as the blooms die off in late summer lend themselves to drying very well. The unique shape and neutral brown coloring of these pods means they will look right at home in most arrangements.

Cornflower

They don’t call it cornflower blue for nothing! These small but delightful blue wildflowers will grow with abandon anywhere you can think to spread them. Like their friend the strawflower, they too require careful timing in cutting to dry in order to preserve their coloring and structure. If you are wondering why your dried cornflower has faded or the petals seem to shed just about everywhere, it’s probably because you picked the bloom too late. Cornflower dries best when it is picked just before the bloom fully opens. These small delicate flowers can be tucked in a crown, a small bud vase or bunched together for a wall sash. They tend to be overpowered in arrangements using multiple other flowers, so let these blooms stand on their own if possible.

New England Aster

The wild child of the group, my tiny pink New England Aster flowers offer an autumn finale in the garden, jumping up out of seemingly nothing and taking over for a few short weeks. Each stem branches out with clusters of inch wide blossoms that dry to a deep magenta pink. Though a bit unruly in a vase, I have a soft spot for their unkempt nature and deep coloring with pinks that last through the whole winter season. Easy to grow and requiring no upkeep, they are certainly a worthwhile addition to any garden for the benefits given to pollinators in search of late season food alone.

Goldenrod

This list wouldn’t be complete without the admirable goldenrod. Often confused for its allergy-causing lookalike, ragweed, goldenrod isn’t the reason for your autumn sniffle session. In fact, goldenrod has many medicinal benefits - but that’s another story for another time. Goldenrod’s showy, small yellow blooms are arranged in rich clusters that droop delightfully.

How to preserve dried flowers

Preserving dried flowers is one of the easiest ways to extend your garden season. The most important step begins with ascertaining the best moment to pick your flower based on the breed. After picking, most flowers (aside from larger blooms like sunflowers and roses) may be dried in a similar fashion - tied with string, hung upside down in a cool dry place. The amount of time needed to dry will vary depending on how hot and dry your climate is in that moment and the amount of water within each stem and bloom - thicker stems such as strawflower taking a few weeks to dry while thinner plants such as cornflower drying in just a few days.

How long do dried flowers last

Dried flowers should last anywhere from 3-6 months, with some varieties such as lavender and statice holding their color for a year or more. It’s important to note too that “last” is relative here - since they are dried, they are unlikely to mold or go “bad”, so if you continue to enjoy the look of your dried flowers past their prime, by all means keep them around!

How to store dried flowers

When not in use, it is best to store dried flowers in brown paper bags or cardboard boxes in a cool, dry place.

What to do with dried flowers

With a little imagination, the options are endless. But here are a few of my favorite ways to use dried flowers:

Door wreaths
Candle wreaths
Crowns
Attached to a barrette
Displayed in a vase, crock, pitcher or other container
Bunches on a windowsill
Bunches hung on a wall
Bunches tied to your shower head
Suspended within a glass bottle sealed with a cork
Flatted between two pieces of glass in a frame
Cooking - check to be sure they are edible
Drawer sachets - best for more fragrant blooms
Potpourri
Blended into hand poured candles
Blended into handmade paper
Blended into teas and herbal steams

Where to buy dried flowers

If you aren’t ready to grow your own flowers for drying, I recommend searching on Etsy for flower growers near you who offer the types of blooms you are looking for.

Decorate with Flowers Year Round Using These Tips [Tutorial]