The popularity of sustainable flower options is ever growing. Dried and preserved flowers need very little care and can last years in the right conditions.
Although dried and preserved flowers have similar shelf lives they have very different appearances and undergo different preservation processes.
Dried Flowers get their appearance from lengthy dehydration. The flowers are often hung upside-down in a cool dry and dark place for an extended period of time. This causes the flowers to lose moisture giving them a duller rustic earthy tone. The foliage and petals often become brittle, and may shrink and wrinkle in the process. I suggested avoiding direct sunlight and humid environments to maximise the longevity of dried flowers (from months to years).
Preserved Flowers get the appearance from the scientific process of replacing their sap with a special gel (glycerine solution) mixture. This causes the flowers to preserve their natural shape, flexibility and colour. However many preserved flowers are also artificially or naturally dyed due to the increased durability of the flower. When displaying preserved flowers it is best to avoid direct sunlight to maximise colour, minimise excessive heat and humidity to avoid wilting and condensation.
Beware of Plastic! Many dried and preserved floral companies also utilise synthetic or plastic flowers in their arrangements. There is nothing wrong with this and these flowers are often beautiful however, at Field and Fleur I do my upmost to be sustainable recycling and upcycling where possible. In doing so I have made the active decision to use only real dried and preserved flowers. Please note if you are after a specific flower I will do my upmost to source it in a natural form for you and will be honest when faced with limitations. You will be amazed at the beauty we can create using natural flowers so I see no need to bring more demand for the synthetics and plastics into the world.
Thank you for understanding!
Love always, Gem (Florist) x
