Does it make you a little sad when flowers start to wither and drop their petals in the vase?
Do your loved ones give you flowers regularly, and you feel like you’re throwing their love away when you place their flowers in the bin?
You’re not alone. And honestly… this feeling is exactly where my dried flower journey began.
My journey with drying flowers started 18 years ago with the first flowers my husband gave me (long before I even knew we would be together).
Those first flowers were a bunch of pink roses.
Now, I wasn’t a HUGE rose fan back in the day. Honestly, I used to think that roses were super cliché, but I ADORED who gave them to me.
So I kept them. For a really long time.
They naturally dried because I never put them in water (this part matters as water is what invites mold).
Now, those roses lived on shelves, moved houses with me, collected a little dust, and held a lot of meaning.
I couldn’t let them go.
Over the years, I kept trying to capture the beauty and the magic of every bouquet he gave me.
One year, I photographed each one. Each super unique, as the flowers changed with the seasons.
What I was trying to capture was not just the beauty of flowers, but how they reminded me how grateful and lucky I was to have this amazing human in my life.
But then one day … he stopped giving me flowers.
When I finally said something, he admitted why:
“You never throw them out. They collect dust and cobwebs and… well, you know.”
Oof. Fair. And also, embarrassing.
So I started learning about how to dry flowers and hold on to them in a more intentional way. One that would include less dust and cobwebs and browning, wilting flowers.
Now, if this sounds like you and you want to preserve a gifted or a market bouquet, here are a few things you can do to help the process:
Can You Preserve Flowers From a Market Bouquet?
Yes… with some realistic expectations and care.
Here are a few things that will make a big difference:
1. Where your flowers come from matters
A flower bouquet from a local farm is your best bet. They’ve traveled less, been harvested more recently, and are generally healthier for drying or preserving in silica. However, they may still not be best for pressing. For pressing, flowers straight from the garden will give you the best results.
Imported flowers, on the other hand, often travel long distances and may be a week (or more) past harvest by the time they reach your home. These are much harder to preserve with good color, shape, and integrity.
That doesn’t mean you can’t try—but it does mean adjusting expectations.
2. Not all flowers dry well—and that’s okay
Some flowers will lose petals. Some will shrink. Some will completely change their personality.
Dahlias and zinnias, for example, tend to shrink significantly and soften in color when dried. Roses may drop petals, but that doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. It usually just means they were past their ideal drying window.
This is nature being nature.
3 Methods To Drying a Market Bouquet
Natural Drying Method:
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Gently dry the stems completely with a towel
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Bundle stems with a rubber band (not string—rubber bands adjust as stems shrink)
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Hang upside down in a cool, dark space with good airflow
Avoid hanging your flowers in a closed cupboard or tight space, as ventilation is key to preventing mold.
As stems dry, they’ll shrink. Check your bundle after a few days and tighten the band if needed so that your flowers don’t slip and break.
Drying flowers upright (no water method)
Some flowers dry beautifully upright in a vase with no water at all. Choose blooms with sturdy stems and smaller heads.
Large blooms like dahlias tend to flop and aren’t ideal for this method.
Silica Gel Crystals In a Box:
While this method will give your flowers the best look, it is messy and requires more set-up.
You’ll want a large enough box, like a boot box to place your flowers in with the gel.
This is the method that most professional floral preservationists use, though there are professional boxes and kits for drying on a pro level.
Before you try this method, make sure you acquire the proper PPE before implementing it. Depending on the type of silica gel crystals you use, some of it may be really fine and release particles in the air that may cause irritation to your eyes or skin.
Please practice caution and care when applying this method to preserving your flowers.
An alternative to silica gel is using sand to preserve flowers. I have yet to try the sand method, but will come back here and update this post when I do.
Once They’re Dry…
You can place them back into a vase, tuck them into a shadow box, or let them live quietly on a shelf—where you’ll see them and remember why you kept them in the first place.
This longing to hold on, gently and with care, is what led me to create our Forever Flowers Earth Vessel collection, botanical greeting cards, and custom floral portraits. Each piece is made as a keepsake—a quiet reminder of love shared, of bonds formed, of moments spoken through the language of flowers.
A way to honor memory without dust, without guilt—just intention.
If you’re looking to learn more how to dry, press and create with flowers, I host in-person classes each month at Jiaren Café.
Have a private event you'd like to host around pressing and creating with flowers? SImple drop me a line at hello@orchidandpine.com, let us know about your celebration and we'll be happy to collaborate with you!
Private events may be booked at Jiaren Cafe or with a variety of our other local venue partners.
Now, more than ever it feels vital to gather in community, meet in real life, and take a break away from life online. These classes are our way of moving us closer to nature, each other and to create new memories as we honor the milestones and moments in our life that matter.
See you in class!
In bloom,
Charina