Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Queen Anne's Lace For The Farmhouse

 

It's time to get on your walking shoes. . .grab a pair of hand clippers and a bucket of water. . .and find the nearest place to home for gathering Queen Anne's Lace wildflowers. . .Depending on your part of the country, this is the time of the year when it seems vacant fields and ditch banks are filled with an abundance of the dainty, fragile-looking flowers that can add so much to your farmhouse decor. . .And if you dry them, you can enjoy their beauty for many more months. . .

Some of the simplest farmhouse settings include the make-do items such as old soda bottles found around the farm. . .and the free wild flowers of Queen Anne's Lace. .

It's true. . .I have written about these flowers before. . .and shown you how to preserve their beauty. . .but it's been several years. . . and I thought it might be time for a refresher course. . .

Whether you plan to use the Queen Anne's Lace fresh or bring some home for drying, carrying a big jar or bucket of water is a must for immediately placing the stems after cutting. . .If you don't. . .by the time you get back to the farmhouse they will have drawn into a ball, and you'll never get them flattened out. . .I often allow a few to dry that way, though, for a little extra interest.

My technique for drying is very simple. . . .I use canning jars and newspaper!!! . . .I have found that empty pint canning jars are just heavy enough to keep the head from curling but not so heavy that they mash the bloom too flat. . .

Spread newspaper on a table in a warm place. . . .Then place a flower head upside down on the newspaper. . . .Add another head beside it, sharing a canning jar between them. . . .Support the stems between the jars. . .Allow to dry. . .Here in our hot, hot summer, it only takes a day or so. . .

Remove the jars. . .For added protection, you can spray the heads with hair spray or other clear spray. . .but not so close that you blow the tiny blooms away!

Now. . .wasn't that simple?

If you are interested in dying some Queen Anne's Lace, I have those links on Pinterest or try the Search box on the right hand column. . .

 


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