Dried flowers are an intriguing alternative to fresh, needing minimal maintenance and encouraging creativity. But how can you keep them looking their best? Here are my 5 tips to style and care for your dried flowers bouquet

1. Take your time when unpacking

While a dried flower bouquet can sometimes be more resilient than fresh, they should still be handled with care. Being cautious and soft with your blooms can help them stay in the best possible condition. Here at The Suffolk Nest, we go to great lengths to ensure that your dried flowers will reach you safely, which usually means that they arrive tightly wrapped. As soon as our box lands on your doorstep, I recommend carefully removing the paper wrapping straightaway. Then, give each stem a gentle shake to fluff them out and help them reach their maximum volume without losing their natural shape.

2. Choose the right vessel

When it comes to creating an effective dried floral arrangement, I believe that it’s important to consider the connection between your flowers and the vessel containing them. The best displays complement one another while also reflecting the rest of your interior décor. Personally, I tend to gravitate towards opaque vases to display dried flowers; our Westley Caramel, Gedding, or Marlesford Pot vases are all fantastic options. These vases all conceal the stems, which can really elevate the overall look of your arrangement and ensure the blooms take centre stage.

3. Avoid direct sunlight

I love displaying dried flowers throughout my home, but if there’s one spot I avoid, it’s my windowsills. While it’s impossible to completely avoid experiencing some discolouration over time, direct sunlight can cause the colour of your dried florals to fade even faster. All is not lost though; I’m a big fan of the muted tones that some of my flower arrangements have evolved into over the years. Even so, getting into the habit of rotating your vases every so often – no matter where they’re displayed – can help ensure that any colour loss occurs evenly across your arrangement.

4. Keep them dry

One of the best things about dried flowers is that they don’t need a lot of maintenance – and they certainly don’t need to be watered! In fact, any type of water – including damp and humid conditions – can cause the florals to lose their shape over time. Instead, try to keep your arrangements in a cool, dry spot to help them stay looking their best for as long as possible. And if you do spot a stray petal or two, don’t panic; it’s completely normal for dried flowers to shed over time.

5. Get creative

Getting the chance to unleash my creativity is one of the things that first attracted to me to flower arranging. Dried flowers inspire my imagination just as much as their fresh counterparts and I love experimenting with my displays. There really aren’t any hard and fast rules: just have fun! Dried flowers have so many uses: you could combine them with faux flower stems, combine several stems of the same type to display en masse, or use them to add texture to seasonal wreaths and garlands. However, if you do choose to display them the traditional way in an opaque vase, my top tip is to trim the ends with a pair of clean, sharp scissors and cut them down to various lengths to give depth and interest to your arrangement.