The Botanical Art of Pressing Flowers

One of the joys of gardening is the opportunity to be creative using flowers and pressing flowers you've grown in your garden is a lovely form of Botanical Art. Until recently this form of Botanical Art had been relegated to the simplistic art of childhood. Or, held as historical archives, Pressed Botanicals were viewed only by a select few scholars of botany. A rare peek at these historical records revealed exquisitely preserved botanicals with beautiful hand-written script labels. Thankfully, this is a form of Botanical Art that now seems to be treasured more and more by those who love gardens and plants,.

One of the easiest flowers to press are the sweet tiny faces of Viola, picked when their bloom is fully opened and at its freshest. Pressing highlights every exquisite detail of the bloom, so it is best to pick blooms at their peak, rather than use flowers that are starting to fade. I especially love the unique detailing of each tiny Viola, and as they are small with thin petals, removing excess moisture via the pressing process is a relatively problem free process.

Small flowers with soft petals and leaves usually press well, such as the true Geranium (not Pelargonium) species. Pressing highlights the cut leaf shape and veining, and the dainty small flowers are exquisite.

Another small flower that presses well is the individual bloom of the Dianthus species, commonly known as Sweet William. These blooms take a little more care to press as the base of the flower is thicker than a Viola, and needs good quality blotting paper in the press to absorb excess moisture.

For each layer of flowers, allow thick blotting paper under and over the blooms, followed by more layers of paper or newspaper sandwiched between cardboard.

Place these 'sandwiches' in a good flower press and store in a cool, dry, dark room. Check the paper every few days for moisture. Replace paper regularly to keep removing the moisture until your pressed flowers are completely dry.

I have found that best results are achieved when flowers of similar size and moisture content are placed in sandwiches in the same press, to ensure an even distribution of moisture removal. If you place very large, thick flowers in sandwiches together with smaller flowers, you may find the excess moisture from the thicker flowers seeps into the small flowers.

I have been blessed with an antique flower press gifted to me by a friend. This was her mother's flower press and so is a very special part of my pressed flower equipment. The length of this flower press allows for longer stems, such as these sweet pea flowers and tendrils to fit in the flower press, giving a lovely pressing. But, I started out pressing flowers between thick books, and even now I find myself using this method when I have an abundance of material and the flower press is already full.

Other materials that press superbly are leaves, especially leaves with a distinctive shape, gathered in Autumn when moisture levels are low. Small twigs and individual pressed florets add a touch of texture to a pressed flower artwork, adding interest and evoking a particular mood or season.

We do workshops where Pressed Flowers are used as a form of creative therapy, highlighting the minute and exquisite detail of each fragile leaf and flower. Pressing flowers and arranging them into lovely vignettes and pieces of Botanical Art can be an all immersing activity where time stands still, the mind rests. For many of our workshop participants, floral art has been the first time they have done something 'creative'. It's a lovely thing to see people who previously thought they weren't creative do something they are proud of.

While creating Botanical Art from Pressed Flowers is a long process of growing, gathering, pressing, and finally creating, at the end, I love the sense of satisfaction when a beautiful piece of Botanical Art emerges.

So why not take up this lovely form of Botanical Art, and give it a go. Don't fall for the cheap packets of already pressed flowers available on line. There is a special delight in growing your own flowers for pressing, or at least picking them fresh from a friend's garden. Placed between thick paper and heavy books, creating your own unique Botanical Art will give you hours of pleasure, and a treasure trove of lovely gifts for family and friends.

Enjoy!

xxLillian