© Janet Davis

Pressing flowers for me has always been pretty low-tech: a few sheets of tissue or a folded section of paper towel with the blossoms (stems removed) and leaves or ferns laid carefully in between. Then off they go into the pages of the weightiest book I can find for a few weeks to dry out. (I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve pressed forget-me-nots into the pages of Deuteronomy and Ecclesiastes).

Besides using books, I also have a simple flower press comprised of two pieces of press board between which are stacked several hundred newsprint squares. The flowers are placed between the newsprint; the covers, which are drilled through with long screws tightened with wingnuts, maintain pressure as the blossoms dry.

Flower-pressing is also a wonderful activity for children. Their little fingers are the perfect size for the tiniest blossoms, such as forget-me-not or brunnera, that make enchanting subjects for craft projects later.

What types of plants provide good material for pressing? You’ll need to experiment to find out which flowers and leaves retain their color. Pansies, violas and Johnny-jump-ups are excellent and extremely long-lasting. So are the tiny pink flowers and lacy foliage of the wildflower geranium called herb Robert. The individual florets of delphinium and monkshood dry well and retain their color.

The lacy white flowerheads of either the rampant groundcover goutweed or of Queen Anne’s lace are good pressers but, like all white flowers, display most effectively on dark paper or board. Rose petals eventually turn cream or, if dark red roses are pressed, brown. Yellow anthemis daisy keeps its color for up to 10 years; separate the ray petals from the raised composite flowers in the centre, and just use the rays.

Marigold petals retain their brilliant color fairly well, but don’t try drying the whole flower, and never press double flowers, which simply fall apart as they dry. However, you can make your own “daisies” by using rose, marigold or clematis petals around a central disk you’ve removed from a flattish flower -- French marigolds, for example -- and dried separately.

Finding attractive foliage to press is fun. Japanese maple leaves are lovely, especially when they color in fall. So are delicate ferns, especially maidenhair. Wild grasses from the side of the road are great, and any herbs commonly used in dried arrangements like sage, thyme, rosemary and lavender press well and make attractive and fragrant designs.

Dried flowers can be waxed onto the sides of candles, craft-glued (podgy) onto note paper or card stock to be used as a journal cover, or even laminated in plastic as a sturdy placemat or bookmark. (Some people put pressed flowers onto bars of soap, but I prefer soap that you can actually use to wash your hands.)

Or you can just leave them tucked away in one of those big, thick books. Then, in the endlessly long days of winter, when the garden is buried under a deep blanket of snow, you can peek into the pages and find all those fragrant, colorful memories of summer pressed within.

Adapted from a column that appeared originally in the Toronto Sun

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