As summer is more or less upon us (well, for some of us), pressing flowers is a great way to preserve blooms picked on long, summer walks in nature or saving the first blooms from your garden. It’s also a great option if you want to preserve a bouquet for sentimental purposes, such as from your wedding or given to you by a loved one. For me, pressing flowers is something I love to do for the aesthetics alone, preserving one of nature’s prettiest gifts.
© 2023 Karis Tavernier-Nicholas
Some flowers press better than others. Drier flowers preserve their colour more (like daises) but I have found lobelias retain their colour too. I have tried to press geranium petals but haven’t had much success as most of the time they lose their rich colour.
A note: an alternative to pressing flowers is drying them instead. One of the better things about this way of preserving your flowers is that you can often retain the shape and 3-D quality of a bouquet, or the shape of the flower. But if intending to keep the flowers for a long time, it will be harder to do as the temperature, as well as sunlight and dust, make it difficult to preserve for a long length of time.
How to Press Flowers using books
My preferred method of pressing flowers is the old fashioned way – with books.
I choose a book I rarely use (usually encyclopedias or some history books I no longer need for my studies), preferably with a flexible spine so that I can better manoeuvre the cover over the flowers when I’m ready, although that’s not strictly necessary.
© 2023 Karis Tavernier-Nicholas
If I care enough about possible stains from the flowers, I use two sheets of parchment paper and place my flowers in between them, being careful to leave enough space between each flower to ensure they don’t press together and become stuck. Trying to separate flowers without ruining them once they are pressed together is extremely difficult as they are very delicate and fragile.
After carefully closing the book, I place it somewhere out of the way with a pile of heavy books on top to help the process. The shortest amount of time I left them to be pressed was probably three days, and I found that was enough time for some flowers; however, I would recommend leaving them for around two weeks for optimal results.
Pressing Flowers using the iron method
Another option is to press your flowers with an iron. This isn’t something I have tried as yet, but I have heard it is easy and effective, and especially great if you want results quickly.
To do: Place the flowers between two pieces of parchment paper, hold the hot iron down for around ten seconds, and allow to cool before checking the results. It is possible that this method may result in creasing which can damage the flower, so be careful if using this method.
Pressed flowers can lose their natural shape, becoming paper thin and extremely delicate. Ways to utilise them include, making art with the flowers and framing them, adding them to photo albums or decorating bookmarks. They can also add an extra personalisation to gifts: greeting cards and gift tags adorned with handmade designs can be gifted to friends and family.
