At the end of spring, a wonderful time comes - the first flowers bloom. Wild flowers are beautiful, which are full of green meadows, forest and garden inflorescences are not inferior to them.
Who among us has not collected flowers to put a bouquet at home? Many carefully preserve dried roses received as a gift on one of the memorable days. Unfortunately, ordinary bouquets quickly dry out, begin to crumble, and have to be thrown away. The usual drying of petals between the pages of books is a good memory, but not a decorative decoration of the house. Meanwhile, Japanese ikebana masters successfully use dry flowers (as well as other natural materials) to create full-fledged home interior decorations. Moreover, each of them is individual, connected with your memories, dear to your heart.
Ikebana of dried flowers is fully consistent with the literal translation of this concept - "new life of flowers." If in ikebana from natural flowers, each flower receives, thanks to the environment, a new sound, then in the “dry” ikebana, the bouquet prolongs its life in a decorative work.
Traditional Japanese ikebana is built according to strict canons, the masters put a philosophical meaning into it. In order to create a classic ikebana, you need to study for a long time, but for our purposes, it is enough to follow the simplest rules. The main one is the “rule of three lines”. According to it, ikebana consists of an irregular triangle created by three lines: the long branch is “Sky” (in Japanese “shin”), the middle one is “Man” (“soe”), the small one is “Earth” (“hikae”).
By following this rule, turn on your imagination - the individuality of the artist is extremely important in ikebana. Two identical flower arrangements should not exist.
Flowers should be picked in the late, dry morning. Remember that after drying, the color of the plants changes - red flowers darken, light ones turn yellow. Blue, pink, purple, orange shades change the least. Many plants can be dried in the form of a finished bouquet - limonium, cattail (similar to reeds, many confuse them), foxtail (ornamental millet), and other cereals. Spray chrysanthemums, lavender, fragrant herbs are best collected in small bunches and dried, hanging down with inflorescences. For better color preservation, they can be wrapped with thin paper.
Flowers dry much faster in the microwave. But with such drying, you need to be extra careful - turn on the oven for just a few seconds and check the flowers every time. After such drying, it is necessary to dry the material in natural conditions for a couple of days.
Hydrogel is well suited for drying any flowers. A layer of hydrogel is poured into a flat container (preferably airtight) and buds are placed, which are carefully covered with hydrogel completely (between the spread petals). With this method, the natural shape of the flower does not change. Flowers should be checked regularly and often, as there is a risk of overdrying them (they become brittle and brittle).
The old way of drying plants will also come in handy - between the sheets of books or albums. In this case, you need to choose beautiful flowers or petals, bearing in mind that after drying they will become flat. This form is also used in ikebana, as well as in decorative wall panels.
Here are some examples of making decorative compositions from dry plants:
flower potpourri
Place dried buds, leaves, stems in a flat basket or dish. Sprinkle flat petals on top. If you want the composition to not only please the eye, but also smell, sprinkle it with a few drops of essential oil. Remember that examples are not role models, but a boost to your creativity. The resulting composition can be an everyday decoration or decoration of a festive table.
Composition of lavender, lime and cones
For her, you will need citrus peels, lime, lavender leaves and flowers, small cones (you can use alder, pine or cedar). Citrus peels need to be dried in advance, like flowers. They look very beautiful if cut into a thin spiral, which is subsequently easily divided into any fragments.
Component preparation method:
- The lime must be peeled and cut into thin rings. You can dry it overnight in a conventional oven at the lowest heating temperature.
- Alder (or other) cones are placed in a plastic bag for several hours. Add a few drops of citrus-scented essential oil to give the buds an extra scent.
- Put all the components in a flat decorative dish, sprinkle with a small amount of ground ginger, place dried hydrangea petals on top. It is better to choose a vase or dish from transparent glass so that all the components can be seen.
Initials for celebrations, decorated with dried flowers
Such decoration can be made from fresh flowers. In autumn or winter, pre-dried small bouquets of dried flowers are suitable for him. You can choose any letters (initials, words of congratulations), as well as the font for them.
We make a frame (letter) of jewelry from a flexible wire.
Live bouquets of larkspur (delphinium) are used here. Dried flowers can be used at other times of the year. The bouquets are fixed on the frame with a thin green wire.
Postcards, wall panels, watercolor paintings
All these decorations can be made using dried flowers, individual petals, improvised materials - cardboard, glue, scraps of tulle or fabric, beads. Children can be involved in such work - it is exciting and develops well.
The glued petals are perfectly combined with a watercolor pattern. You can also use thin stems.
Beauty and naturalness
For ikebana and other decorations from dry plants, you can use any materials that do not crumble when dried: house flowers catharanthus, indoor and natural ferns, yucca, dried berries, small cones, dry branches, wild flowers, laurel, ornamental grasses, yarrow, roses, peonies, hellebore, large sedum. For better preservation, the composition can be opened with houseplant varnish or regular hairspray. Do not expose the ikebana to direct sunlight - it will fade. Dust can be removed with an ordinary thin brush.
You can also check out articles such as:
Fresh flowers in interior design
Interior decoration with fresh flowers
