Do you know what the secret
is to drying sunflowers?
To keeping them perfectly preserved
and pretty?
And what about the secret to getting them to have that gorgeous faded color
like an old sepia toned print?
Sunflowers are happy flowers.
Bright and colorful with those chocolate faces framed by yellow.
They instantly make a room feel like it has been flooded with sunshine.
And when they start to droop a bit – you can enjoy them even so
by drying them.
And it is so easy to do.
Want to know the secret?
Just place your pretty fresh sunflowers in a vase of water
and enjoy their blooms in the kitchen
or wherever you might want their smiling faces
brightening up a room.
And then…
Forget about them.
Yes, you read that right.
Forget about them.
Leave them in the vase with water and let them dry slowly.
Don’t take them out and toss them when they start looking a little iffy
or when their heads drop a bit
or start to shrivel.
Just leave them.
Those sunflowers were blooming away happily
when I went out of town.
And when I came back – they were not looking so bright and sunshiny
but I set the vase on the sideboard and let them be a bit longer.
They are not fully dried yet even and it has been probably 2-3 weeks
Note:
The heads will drop- so if you want them to dry more straight- you will need to prop them
or lay them down once they are mostly dry and straighten them a bit.
And if you want to get that gorgeous sepia toned look rather than that
bold and beautiful sunflower look~
do something super simple- pull the yellow petals off.
That softer faded look that these sunflowers has is actually the base of the flower
that has dried- not the petals.
The petals retain much of their color and are bold even when dried.
So the key to a faded palette is to shake the flowers to loosen the petals or pull them off and
use the petals somewhere else.
I’ll show you one of the spots I tucked these gorgeous beauties
tomorrow in my Fall Home Tour.
See you then!
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Cindy says
Thank you so much for sharing that great trick! I love the way sunflowers make a room feel… even if i don't love bright colors, they still make me happy. The faded sunflowers in the first photo look amazing! I am definitely going to try that!
Cindy
Pura Vida says
I had no idea! thanks!
Little Farmstead says
Okay, so that how to get the sepia look! Thank you. We grew our own this year for the first time, so this will be a great tip to use…
Unknown says
Courtney, they look beautiful blended with your dried roses. I would never have thought of putting those two flowers together, but it works. Great tip on removing the yellow petals. Look forward to seeing your Fall Home Tour.
Dedra Davis Writes says
Ugh! I just cut the heads off of mine and threw them in an old pot of dirt; hoping the seeds would produce more for me! Now, I will have to buy more!! haha Thank you for the knowledge!
Blondie's Journal says
I have three just starting to dry up in vases. Thanks!
Jane x
Anonymous says
So then they dry like the hydrangeas , that is great to know. I started using sunflowers in my fall decor
Last fall. Yours are so pretty!
Have a good day.
Judy at GoldCountryCottage says
Those are so pretty, Courtney, and I do like the faded look. I will have to start not throwing mine away so fast..Happy Wednesday..Judy
Satu says
I was just wondering how to do it. I'm having this seasons last sunflowers in vase ( next to vase of white and pink/white roses).Thank You for Your tip, I just 'forget' them for a while…
Satu
S H Elliott says
Thanks for the tip. I love sunflowers this time of the year….Sheila E
Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow says
I didn't know that you could do this…it's the same way I dry hydrangeas, though. Trouble is the finches outside love the sunflowers so much I don't know if I should steal a few of MINE from THEM or not! 🙂 Yours certainly look lovely !!
LuAnn says
Thanks Courtney! I do this for Hydrangeas, but's that great for sunflowers! Thanks for sharing! How do you dry your roses?
LuAnn 😉
Shirley@Housepitality Designs says
I am definitely going to do this!…..I have bought dried sunflowers and now I can dry my own thanks to you!