Thursday, April 4, 2019

A Pressing Matter

I spotted the first wildflower blossoms of the spring in my parents' yard a few days ago.
It's always such a welcome sight to find these little surprises poking up through the blanket of leaves! Bloodroot (shown above) is an intriguing little plant. Not only does it sport interestingly shaped leaves and perky flowers, but it secretes a red liquid when the stem is broken/cut. Literally resembling small drips of blood, this is the reason for its name. My fingers were dotted with the substance after picking two flowers and a leaf. The reason I plucked them was so that I can preserve them in my flower press.
Designed with several layers of cardboard within, the four screws on this press allow me to put a lot of pressure on the blossoms that I want to "smoosh". The top of it reads, "In Victorian times, pressed flower designs reflected the beautiful art of keeping the blossoms of memory fresh in the garden that grows in the heart."
Here are a few flowers which are already dried. I did some of them, but most came from a workshop I attended last summer when I attended a heritage arts camp. If you want to see that previous post, you can click here.
During the class I took, I made notecards from materials the instructor provided us. 


In about two weeks, the bloodroot flowers and leaf that I am pressing will be all dried and ready for crafting! A flower press is not requred for this task, however. It's possible to sufficiently flatten flowers using heavy books as many of us did growing up. We also used to preserve small floral branches by burying them in a pan of sand. My friend told me that she and her mother used a phone book (not always an option these days, right?!) and joked that to this day, pressed violets and daisies fall out when she looks up a number at her parents' house!

I learned some valuable preservation tips at camp. 
    *Pick your flowers later in the day so that they are without dew drops as the moisture will promote molding.
    *Press your flowers as soon as possible after gathering them so that they are not wilted when they go into the press.
     *Don't allow blossoms to touch one another when they are being dried.
     *Allow your plants to be pressed for two weeks. Afterward, store them flat in a dry location. 

I should be able to gather other varieties of wildflowers soon because they're all just about to burst into beauty. Maybe after the current rains subside, I will snoop around the woods for more possibilities. As you know, most spring wildflowers don't bloom for lengthy periods of time so I will need to act quickly because... it's a pressing matter! 💮