Putting advice from internet green lifestyle experts to the test.

Where do you turn to when you are frustrated and need help on a project?  The internet, right?  But how do you separate internet myths from reality?  I tried to do just that while attempting to dry some flowers.  I consulted different blogs and various green lifestyle experts and there seemed to be four basic ways to dry flowers: press them in a book; hang them to dry; place them in sand or use store-bought silica gel.

I ruled out pressing them, as I wanted the flowers to retain their shape. On the same note, I have never had a good experience hanging flowers to dry.  I decided to hedge my bet by doing one bunch of flowers in sand and the other in silica gel from a traditional craft store.

The sand instructions from the green lifestyle experts on the internet indicated that by burying the flower head completely in clean sand (bought at a toy store) and allowing it to dry for a few weeks, it would preserve my flowers. The first step was to cut the booms off the stems.  I then filled the air tight plastic container with sand, the blooms and set them aside in a cool dark area.  At the same I proceeded to do the same with the remainder of my flowers, only this time enrobing them in silica gel.  I chose the self-indicating Silica gel, which changes colors from blue to pink, as it absorbs the water from the flowers.

So I let some time pass, and then the moment of truth came.  The grand unveiling.  I was expecting to see a perfectly dried rose from my sand container but instead I got a handful of mushy goop. I was disappointed.  I then moved on to the much more expensive Silica gel, with much trepidation.  The roses placed in the Silica gel, were perfect. The color was redder than a normal dried flower and the petals less brittle. Now to attach the bloom I didn’t need any advice.  I merely purchased floral wire and floral tape and the flower was easily attached to the stem.

The lesson here?  Think carefully about internet advice even if it comes from self-proclaimed experts.   Through trial and error perhaps we will all become green lifestyle experts.