You can enjoy flowers from your garden all year! You can press your flowers and then get creative and use them in projects like greeting cards, bookmarks, scrapbooks, framed prints, or candles.

Traditionally, to press flowers you placed them in heavy books and then you had to wait weeks or months for the flowers to dry out. Now you can press them in the microwave in a matter of minutes and have much more vibrant colors than the traditional method. You can pick your flowers, press and dry them and use them in a project on the same day!

I have tried several microwave methods, but the one I like the best is using the Microfleur microwave flower press. It is available from Amazon in 5″ or 9″. I have the 9″, I think the 5″ would really limit what you could do and it would take much longer to press multiple flowers.

https://www.amazon.com/Microfleur-Microwave-Max-Flower-Press/dp/B0050GWV9C

You can experiment with the flowers in your garden, some press much better than others. Drift roses and blanket flowers are my favorites. Both retain their color well. Snapdragons look creative, but they do loose some color in the microwave pressing process.

I have not had good luck with large blooms – like regular size roses, delicate flowers like begonias, or flowers with large centers like coneflowers.

After the flowers are picked, you will usually remove the stem, getting the back as flat as possible.

This kit comes with 2 platens and clips, along with pads and fabric sheets. Place one of the pads on top of a platen with the ribbed side down. Then put one of the sheets on top of the pad. Lay the flowers upside down on the fabric sheet, making sure they sit as flat as possible and do not overlap one another.

Carefully place the second sheet on top of the flowers.

Cover the sheet with the remaining pad.

Place the platen on top of all of these, with the ribbed side out. Use the clips to hold all layers together. It is now ready to put in the microwave.

I have found that times vary with the types of flowers, and of course, with the wattage of your microwave. You will have to experiment with your flowers and your microwave. I usually start out with a minute, then check the flowers. Normally it takes an additional 30-60 seconds.

The flowers should feel similar to tissue paper and feel dry. When I think they are dry, I move them to a piece of copy paper and make a note of how long they were in the microwave, so I can use the same times for the next batch.

I have found that sometimes when you think the flowers are completely dry, the centers or thicker areas may still have a bit of moisture in them. So I cover the flowers with a second sheet of paper.

Then I place them under a couple of heavy books for a day or two. If you want to use them immediately, just double check that all parts of the flower are dry.

Experiment with buds, leaves and stems.

Try a variety of flowers, remember the drying time will vary due to size, moisture content, and the wattage of the microwave being used.

Fall leaves and flower petals can also be used. Complete and more detailed instructions come in a booklet with the Microfeur press. More ideas coming!

Be creative and have fun!

This has been a great year for roses! Maybe they liked the cool rainy spring that we had. Our roses have more blooms and look better than they ever have! The Double Delight rose is so beautiful! The eye-catching colors and fantastic fragrance make it immensely popular.

According to Wikipedia, ‘Double Delight ‘ is a hybrid tea rose cultivar bred by Swim & Ellis and introduced in 1977. Its parents were two hybrid tea cultivars – the red and yellow ‘Granada’ (Lindquist, 1963) and the ivory ‘Garden Party’ (Swim, 1959).

As the bud opens up, the rose is mainly a creamy white with just the edges tipped in a dark pink.

Then the petals begin turning a dark pink, almost strawberry red color. Gorgeous two-tone rose.

The blooms are large and most bloom continuously from spring to autumn.

So many different looks from one rose.

So pretty! You may want to add this to your collection. Enjoy!

English roses are so beautiful! They are also called David Austin roses, because they were created by Englishman David Austin. They are the perfect compliment to any garden.

Most of the English roses have soft, cupped blooms with many petals, looking almost like a peony.

These roses feature an heirloom rose fragrance combined with modern disease resistance and a reblooming habit. They come in shrub and climbing varieties to suit any garden space.

When you plan your plantings, consider adding complementing flowers, such as these blue geraniums, to create beautiful contrasts.

English roses come in range of colors – pinks, whites, yellows, apricots and reds. As you look at English roses in the stores, you will probably have trouble deciding which ones you should take home. So many gorgeous colors!

English roses are wonderful cutting flowers. They are delicate, so it is best to cut them while they are still in the late bud stage so you can enjoy them longer in your home.

Most resources recommend fertilizing English roses at the beginning of the season and then once after they begin blooming.

To prune these roses, simply prune them to a shape in early spring. If you want a smaller plant and larger, but fewer, flowers, prune it back farther. If you want a larger plant for landscaping with smaller (but lots more) flowers, just prune off the damaged tips or to shape. Always prune off dead blooms to encourage more blooms, and remove all of the dead blooms at the end of the fall season.

It is best to plant English roses in the fall or early spring, so now is the time to start planning what roses you want to plant this fall to enjoy next spring.

Have fun shopping and planting! Enjoy!