4. PRESSED DRYING:

This traditional method of preserving flowers was popular in the Victorian age. It’s still romantic to find an antique bloom pressed between the pages of a favorite novel or collection of poetry.

1. Gather a few heavy books or a flower press if you have access to one. You’ll also need heavy paper such as watercolor paper or card stock and sheets of parchment. 2. Gather the blooms you want to preserve. They will be flattened, so keep that in mind when selecting the flowers. 3. Open a book and place a piece of heavy paper on the page, then a piece of parchment. 4. Arrange the flowers, face down, on the parchment, then cover the flowers with another piece of parchment and, finally, another absorbent paper. (You’ll have four layers of paper.) 5. Close the book and pile on several more heavy volumes. (Rely on your own judgement as to the weight you’ll need.) 6. After 3–4 weeks, you can remove the weight and see the antique-looking flowers on the page. You may want to leave them in the book, but remove all but one sheet of parchment, to protect the book’s page. If you remove the flowers from the book, you’ll need to decide on some other flat surface to store or display the blooms— perhaps in a shadow-box frame or on a side table under a sheet of glass.

Whatever you choose to do with your summer garden’s beauties—arrangements in vases, wreathes, gift decorations, nosegays, you’ll be reminded of the beauty of your garden throughout the winter months until the garden comes to life again.