Pushing Daisies

HOW TO GIVE YOUR DEAD FLOWERS A SECOND LIFE By Shelby Evans, Lifestyle Editor Photographed by Jessica Tenenbaum, Staff Photographer

Pressing flowers often gets forgotten in childhood. It’s a whimsical hobby that doesn’t enjoy as much popularity as painting or writing. But it isn’t an activity that should be outgrown.

You don’t need a green thumb to surround yourself with plants. In fact, killing the plants is actually a part of the process.

When you’ve pressed flowers and they are dried, don’t put them off to the side or sadly throw them away. Instead, use them as decor — a wonderful hobby turned into very affordable interior design.

From April to September, there are plenty of plants in bloom around the state of Wisconsin. It’s easy to find beautiful things that are native and wild you admire and want to immortalize.

In the spring you can pick the delicate pink flowers from thousands of Prairie Crabapple trees, or in summer the purple flowers of a Hairy Wild Petunia, in late summer you can pick daisy-like flowers from a Heath Aster1 .

Grab an empty tote-bag and some good company. I recommend company in the form of a friend, but some Hozier music or your favorite podcast works too. Pick a route that will be littered with plants, and walk!

Stay away from picking plants from a strangers yard, but public parks are good. Pick up leaves, weeds, flower buds and petals. Add whatever you think is pretty to your bag.

Now that you have things to press, dig out that old math textbook you didn’t end up needing but bought freshman year. You can use any large-sized book to press the flowers.

Make sure to line the pages with printer paper, you don’t want pigments from the flowers to ruin the pages or for the text ink to stick to the flowers.

Simply open the book, place one sheet of white paper down, add a flower or leaf-maybe two if they are smaller sized. Then add the second piece of paper on top, and shut the book. You can use the same book for a couple of flowers, but don’t try to press all the flowers in one book, it will get too bulky and the flowers won’t dry well. Once you have all the flowers placed in all the books you need, find something heavy. It can be more books, a heavy potted plant or a bin of unused clothing. Place your books full of pressed flowers under the weighted item. Leave them for at least a week.

While you are waiting for your flowers to finish pressing, take an afternoon to visit your nearest thrift store. Picture frames are usually never more than $2 each and sometimes as cheap as 50¢. Search for frames that will match your flowers in size and border style.

Once you’ve waited a week for your flowers to be pressed, transfer the now flat and dry flowers from the book pages into the frames. You can place them on shelves or hang them on nails or command strips. Now you have an entire wall of hand-selected, natural decor for less than $10!

Now, year round your home will seem to be blooming full of flowers. You’ll have spring time colors on dark winter days without having to work to keep a plant alive. ■