New Preserved Hydrangeas

We've added a number of new preserved Hydrangeas over at Nettleton Hollow. We've started to focus on Hydrangea paniculata, also known as Limelight Hydrangeas, as the stems and flowers tend to be sturdier and more resilient than dried Mophead Hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla).

This picture shows a Select Grade bundle of Variegated, or Bicolor Blue Hydrangea paniculata. 

Pink Preserved Hydrangea paniculata displayed on a Sandblasted Manzanita Branch. The contrasting form and color of the Hydrangea and the Manzanita Branches works quite well. 

Golden Hydrangea paniculata (Golden Limelight Hydrangea), displayed in a vase with Natural Green Salal. Salal makes a great addition to centerpieces, and is dyed and preserved for lasting color and natural form. 

Select Grade Magenta Preserved Limelight Hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata). These have been dyed a particularly deep and striking color. 

As with most items, we have both Select Grade Hydrangeas, and Project Grade Hydrangeas. The picture above shows the difference between the two. 

The Project Grade Hydrangeas, currently priced around $10.00, are a great value but will require a bit of fluffing and rearranging to get them into form for display. They tend to be somewhat flattened, and some of the blooms may be broken. 

With the Select Grade bundles, we've fluffed and rearranged the stems as necessary, replaced any sub-par stems, then bundled them with raffia, so you can drop these preserved Hydrangea bundles into a vase, or use them as part of a more complex centerpiece. These generally cost $5.00 more than the Project Grade Hydrangeas, but are a great option if you are looking for a quick and simple floral accent and would rather leave the fussing up to us!

A quick note about Dried vs. Preserved Hydrangeas. The term "preserved" generally refers to items that have been treated with glycerol (glycerine), a non-toxic substance that displaces the water in plant material such as flowers and foliage. Preserved Flowers generally have a form and feel similar to fresh flowers. Over time, however, preserved flowers will slowly dry out as well and start to feel more like they've been dried. With finer flowers such as Hydrangeas and Hanging Amaranthus this can happen fairly rapidly (they'll feel noticeably drier in a month or two), while with thicker items such as Preserved Roses, there won't be any noticeable drying for many months, if not years.  

Dried Safflower and Lemon Mint

We have a couple of new dried flowers that look great just dropped into a vase - Dried Safflower (Carthamus tinctorus) and Dried Lemon Mint (Monarda citriodora).

Safflower is actually one of the most ancient cultivated crops - the Egyptians used it to dye their textiles, and garlands of it were found in King Tut's tomb. One thing about it is that it has little spines, so you might want to wear gloves while handling it.

Although one of the common names of Monarda citriodora is Lemon Mint, my nose doesn't detect a trace of lemon - it smells like oregano to me! Other common names include Blooming Monarda and Purple Horsemint. It is native to North America.

Pink Dried Larkspur Flowers and Dried Snake Grass

Here are two new items that go together easily and beautifully - Pink Dried Larkspur Flowers and Dried Snake Grass, also known as Equisetum. To create this, we started with the Snake Grass, and then just dropped the dried flowers into the vase. It makes a quick, simple, and stunning dried flower arrangement.

The Resilience of Preserved Roses

Preserved Roses have the appearance of fresh roses, and the feel and resiliency of them as well. Check out this sequence of pictures where I squeezed a Red Preserved Rose to a great extent. As soon as I relieved the pressure, it sprung right back to its original form.

Consider Preserved Roses for weddings and other events where you'd love to provide guests with a lasting memento of the occasion. 

Preserved Rose in a Champagne Flute

Happy Valentine's Day from Nettleton Hollow! Today millions of roses will be given, most of which will quickly wither and fade over the following days. The simple and elegant display of a single Red Preserved Rose, combined with a a bit of preserved Reindeer Moss in a champagne flute, will look just about the same next Valentine's Day.

Preserved Roses could be an excellent choice for wedding place settings, providing a vibrant accent for the event, and allowing your guests to take home a lasting memento to remind them of occasion for months, if not years to come.

Pussy Willow Tips - Ideal for Smaller Vases and Centerpieces

We have a new size and style of Pussy Willow available - Pussy Willow Tips. These are about 20-24" long, and each stem has around 4-10 catkins. These are ideal for arrangements with dried flowers such as the hydrangeas shown here.

For this arrangement, we just put dried hydrangeas into a vase, and then inserted the Pussy Willow Tips down through the flower head. Oftentimes when you are creating displays like this it can be tough to get the items to stay where you want them, but in this case the hydrangeas kept the Pussy Willows right where we wanted them. 

Of course you can just drop Pussy Willow Tips into a vase for a quick and easy display. Below is a display of two bundles. 

Canning Preserved Roses

Here's a quick and inexpensive display that would be great for a wedding, party or just decorating the home - place a Preserved Rose in a pint mason jar with some Reindeer Moss for greenery and to hold the rose head in place.

The cost should come out to $5-6 per jar - $3.75 for the Preserved Rose, $0.63 for the Reindeer Moss (one bag should do about 10 jars), and $0.84 for the mason jar. 

These would make very convenient mementos for your guests once the party is over, and should last for months, if not years after the event.  

Wiring Preserved Roseheads

Preserved Roseheads come without a stem or wire. Although they look great laid on their side and you can create many different displays that way, they also look great wired to branches. Here's how you wire up a Preserved Rosehead.

1. Put on latex gloves and cover your working surface with newspaper! Learn from my mistakes... I got going on this project and discovered that the base of the rose head is like a little reservoir of dye and glycerine solution. Once you poke a wire into it, it starts "bleeding" and the dye is very, very good - as in it is very difficult to get off. I scrubbed and scrubbed my fingers with an abrasive pad to no avail. What worked was a few hours of digging in the garden (without gloves). Okay, enough of that spiel... you've been warned.

2. You'll need your Preserved Roseheads (of course), some floral wire, and something to cut the wire with.

3. Cut a good length of wire at an angle so it makes a sharp point, and insert the wire through the base of the rose head. If you have trouble pushing the wire through (such as if it is a fine gauge), you can create a pilot hole with a needle.

4. Pull the wire through so both ends are of equal length.

5. Pull the ends of the wire together, and twist. I tried various things - wrapping the wire around the base, etc, but this worked the best (and was the easiest).

6. You're finished! Repeat as necessary.

With your wired Preserved Roseheads you can create something like the display below. The branches are Mountain Laurel Branches (discontinued we're afraid), and the foliage is Seeded Eucalyptus.

Craspedia Comparison

About 18 months ago, I decorated a window in my bathroom with a bunch of Craspedia. Given the direct sunlight and high humidity, I expected them to fade significantly over the course of a few months, but much to my surprise, they are still looking great. In the top row are the ones from my bathroom, while in the bottom row are fresh flowers. The most noticeable difference is that the stems changed from a light green to a brown.