How to Dry Flowers Using Silica Gel

First, Gaines takes an existing flower arrangement to preserve. When you choose your arrangement, make sure the flowers are in the same stage of bloom you want to preserve them in; each bud should be open, and the blooms should ideally be at their fullest. 

Then, she fills a plastic tub with silica gel. Once your tub is ready, carefully place your flowers on top, spacing them apart from each other. Gently pour another layer on top of your flowers until they are covered.

Silica gel absorbs moisture, so it will dry your flower in its original state, ensuring it is completely preserved as it was when it bloomed, rather than being pressed. To properly preserve the beauty of each flower, try to have the silica touch as much as possible, including between petals.

Choosing the Best Flowers for Your Arrangement

The flowers Gaines preserves have fewer nooks and crannies for moisture to hide in. Petals that are rounder with less intricate surfaces, like the craspedia Gaines uses in her bouquet are easier to preserve.

Your flowers will dry within a few days to a full week. You can test if they're dry by removing them from the gel and checking for moisture. If you’ve taken it out too early, cover it back up with silica gel for a few more days.

Displaying Your Preserved Flowers

Once her flowers are ready, Gaines displays them in a glass display cloche. To do this, you can glue the base of each stem to the wooden bottom of your cloche or use a flower frog to emulate the look of a bouquet.

Lastly, Gaines covers the bottom of her cloche with moss. This can make your arrangement look more natural and cover any drippy glue. Additionally, dried flower stems lose a significant amount of thickness and color, so adding a little extra greenery will help brighten them up.

Gaines uses this method to preserve all manner of flowers, but the ones in her tutorial were undoubtedly special; she preserved the arrangement from her daughter’s birthday.