Pressing flowers with a traditional flower press is more than a fun craft to pass the time. It can form a beautiful family tradition or preserve special memories or moments in time such as birthday, wedding or anniversary flowers, or flowers from grandma’s garden. Although you can press almost any flower or foliage, some varieties achieve better results than others.
The best flowers to press with a flower press
The best flowers to preserve with a flower press are one’s that have only a single layer of petals and are naturally flat as they take the shortest time to press. Some flowers hold their colour and shape better than others. You can improve the colour retention by picking flowers that have just bloomed. Flowers that have been in bloom for a few days tend to be less vibrant.
The best flowers to press with a flower press are pansies, violas, daisies, marigolds, cosmos, and other petite blooms. All of these flower varieties are easy to grow both in pots and gardens. For larger blooms like roses, we recommend only pressing the petals or splitting the flower down the middle using scissors or a sharp knife.
A great activity for adults and kids
Pressing flowers is a lovely, calming pastime that sparks creativity and gets you closer to nature. It’s a suitable activity for all ages but is particularly valuable for kids. Gathering flowers to press gets kids outside and fosters exploration while arranging and pressing the blooms and foliage encourages curiosity and creativity. And best of all, you can do it at any time of the year.
Pressing flowers is an activity that takes a few weeks to achieve your results of perfectly pressed flowers, but while you wait, you can start planning what you’re going to do with all your pressed blooms. The options are endless for the ways you can use pressed flowers, but they’re perfect for decorating cards and making botanical artwork in clear glass frames.
A great gift
A flower press makes a perfect gift for kids, and serious and novice crafters or gardeners. It gives gardeners the opportunity to preserve homegrown blooms to enjoy long after the season has ended, and crafters will love adding pressed botanical elements to their creative projects. If you know someone who loves crafting or a gardener with a garden full of beautiful blooms, surprise them with a flower press. Find a range of flower presses here.
Photo by Andrea from @heartofblooms
