Pressing Florida wildflowers allows gardeners to preserve the beauty of their garden in many different ways. The number of items that can be decorated with pressed Florida wildflowers is as varied as the wildflowers themselves. Pressing is not difficult to do. All that is required is flowers, a few materials and most of all, patience.

Selecting the wildflowers is the most important step. Look for colors in yellow and orange since these retain their color better than others. Red has a tendency to turn brown and not maintain its true color. Pinks and blues while pretty will fade quicker over time.

Making a flower press

• Cut two rectangular pieces(about the size of a sheet of notebook paper) of plywood 1/2” to 3/4” thick; start smaller if you like 4”x 4” or 5”x 5” but larger is better if you want to press several flowers at one time
• Drill one hole in each corner of both pieces of plywood
• To assemble, insert four long bolts with wing nuts; the wing nuts will allow you to adjust the pressure and size of your press
• Cut pieces of cardboard and blotting paper about the same size as the plywood (this will be going inside the plywood form so it should be slightly smaller)

Gathering flowers for pressing

• Gather on a dry, sunny day; wait until dew has dried to begin your selection
• Choose flowers that are blemish and spot free; drying will only increase any imperfections
• Collect flowers in various stages of bloom, from buds to full blossom and with some stems and leaves for a variety of projects
• For best results press flowers soon after picking. If this is not possible keep in a container of water until ready to press
• If you are not picking Florida wildflowers from your own garden be sure not to gather endangered or protected species.
• Check this website from the Division of Forestry for helpful information about endangered plants:
  http://www.fl-dof.com/forest_management/plant_conserve_list.html

Making the “flower sandwich”

• Start with a layer of cardboard
• Place a layer with the flower(s) on blotting paper
• Insert a piece of the cardboard and follow with a layer of blotting paper and flower(s)
• Repeat this process with additional layers to make a stack ending with cardboard as the final layer
• Lastly place the top piece of plywood and press by tightening the corner bolts
• The flowers will need to press for 14-21 days; if the flowers are still moist after this time you may want to carefully change the blotting paper and give them another few days to dry

Flower Press

A few helpful hints

• Before pressing flowers check for high moisture by squeezing a petal between your fingers; if it oozes moisture then it is not a good flower for pressing
• Keep tweezers handy to separate leaves and to remove flowers from blotting paper
• Keep all pressed flowers out of direct sunlight to reduce fading
• Florida natives that press well: Coreopsis, Rudbeckia, and Goldenrod
• Try to put the same flowers on each sheet of blotting paper and make sure no flowers are touching
• Store pressed flowers until ready to use for projects in old phone books. Arrange flowers on sheets of paper and put in a labeled file folder then place the folder between pages of the phone book
• Do not attempt to store flowers in any type of plastic; any moisture remaining in the flower could cause mildew

Suggestions for ways to use pressed wildflowers:

• Pictures, bookmarks, gift tags, cards, stationery, magnets, picture frames, sun catchers, clock face, candles, coasters, placemats
• White craft glue will work fine for most projects. If working with a glass project use a clear, non-water base glue
• Enjoy!