Drying a Sarah Bernhardt peony with silica beads

I picked this stunning flower from my garden. Her name is Sarah Bernhardt. Actually that’s the name of the actual plant but we’ll call this individual flower by a name as well. Every flower deserves its very own name, if you ask me.

I’m going to show you the process that I dry my peonies every year. It’s slightly more advanced than a regular dried flower but at the same time rather unprofessional, simple, and perhaps slightly lazy. ;)

But it always yields stunning results.

I own an Etsy flower resin craft business and I strive to source all of my flower from my own back yard or foraged in the wilderness. Once spring and summer roll around I am always swamped in an abundance of fresh, lively ladies (i.e. flowers). Because of lack of space and materials I sometimes have to improvise or get creative on a whim to dry and preserve them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Today was no different.

My first blooms are always my biggest and are also known as “double blooms”. They have at least twice as many petals as a regular bloom does and the giant, soft petals literally drape over the sides of my hand when I hold it. Also, the cake pan that I’m drying it in is nine inches in diameter!! This one is particularly large giantess.

First I start by pouring a little bit of silica beads in the bottom of the pan, just to cover it. Also, silica beads can be “recharged” in the oven at a low temp and used over and over. Hence the reason for the discoloration and flower confetti mixed in!

Now it’s ready for the rest of the silica beads. I try to cover as much as I can but if some of the petals are still poking out, it will still produce the same results.

I let it wait for a couple of days to dry. I usually don’t let it dry completely because there’s always flowers behind this one that are waiting in line for the beads. As long as it sets up in the drying process initially, it’s usually okay to let it dry on its own after that.

I live in a hot, dry climate so everything dries very, very quickly with little chance for mold. Of course in a more humid climate I would have longer drying time and possibly different results.

Please follow along for my next post when I show the results after the drying process!