Hello there! It’s February and almost Valentine’s day. Do you celebrate Valentine’s day or do you just skip it? To me, Valentine’s day is not a big deal, I won’t be disappointed when I don’t get diamonds or red roses. But it is the day I started my blog two years ago! I like to keep up the tradition and write a Valentine’s day blog post every year. This year, I kept it simple and created dried hydrangea hearts. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the post for a free printable hydrangea heart!
Clematis
After a short period of warm weather, today we have snow! It looks like winter isn’t over yet. I must have been a bit confused by the nice temperatures because I went to the garden centre and bought some new plants. Obviously, I am anxious to start gardening again.
I bought a new clematis, clematis Apple blossom. It’s an early-flowering, evergreen clematis. I planted it against an east facing wall next to the kitchen window. I can’t wait for it to flower.
Last year, my clematis didn’t do very well. I planted some very lovely varieties against the oak tree in the back of the garden. But they probably didn’t get enough sun, it’s a very large oak tree. I will have to move them (not the oak tree of course ;-).
Drying hydrangeas
As I mentioned in my last blog post, not much is happening in the garden at the moment. My hellebores have lots of flower buds and it won’t be long before they bloom. Nothing is flowering, except for a few small viburnum shrubs, so I am using dried flowers to make my hydrangea hearts.
I love drying flowers. It’s a way to try to preserve their beauty. Some flowers are even more beautiful after they are dried. I love the delicate, papery petals of a dried poppy. Hydrangeas are more robust flowers and very easy to dry. They are one of my favourite garden plants, a bit old fashioned maybe, but I don’t mind. They are easy to grow, which makes them perfect for the kind of gardener I am.
Tips on how to dry hydrangeas can be seen all over Pinterest. The key to success is not to cut the blooms too early or they can wilt. But don’t cut the blooms too late, or they can lose all their colour.
You can use the flower heads in an arrangement. But you can also use the individual petals to make a flower crown like I made for our cat Poemie. I love the way the petals have taken on a faded colour, very vintage.
Dried hydrangea heart
You can also dry the individual petals between the pages of the dictionary or any other book. The hydrangea petals I used to make the hearts, are from our holiday in Normandy last summer. We rented a modern and comfortable villa. It wasn’t a charming, traditional Normandy house, but it did have a beautiful garden. There were hydrangeas in all varieties, colours, and even bloom shapes, flowering abundantly. I discovered the double and the oakleaf hydrangea. Wow! On my wishlist.
I hope you enjoy these dried hydrangea hearts. To celebrate my blog’s second birthday you can download a dried hydrangea heart to print out. Hope you write some sweet words on it to your significant other, a friend or even your mother. Personal use only!
Printable hydrangea heart for Valentine’s day
Valentine’s day inspiration
You can find my other Valentine’s day blog posts here:
Best flowers for Valentine’s Day besides roses
The way to a man’s heart… is a heart-shaped Linzer torte.
Have a good weekend!
Wow these look so pretty! Not just for Valentines day but for Spring in general! Love the look of it.
x Annabelle
travelsandtea.com
Thanks Annabelle, glad you like them!