Old and New
the journal and flower press
I never had the pleasure of meeting Roy’s dad as he passed away before I “came along”. . . so when we discovered the flower journal he created for a school assignment in 1926 along with the flower press he used, needless to say I was excited. Thirty-five wildflowers gathered, pressed, and mounted with descriptions and locations noted. These violets were “on the bank” and he thought them “very pretty”. . . a man of few words . . . like someone else I know 🙂
I decided I would look to the places he noted and gather the same flowers blooming almost a century later. I couldn’t be sure they were the exact same places but Roy seems sure he never left the farm. He gathered violets in late April and I gathered mine a bit earlier in a clearing full of violets in the woods behind Aunt Willie’s house. Another day I’ll post about the violet syrup making that followed.
99 year old wildflowers
As a surprise for Roy I chose 9 of his dad’s journal pages and had them mounted and framed. We are not big gift givers but this was one we both enjoy and it hangs happily in our sunroom.
I wish I had the flower journal I made in 10th grade, or those my children made a generation later but I remember the trips to the woods behind my house in Ohio and numerous trips to Roan Mountain with my kids. All good memories and all united by the gifts nature so generously hands us.
I’m reminded that when we press or dry flowers we preserve more than just the flowers themselves. When I look at the softly colored larkspur I remember harvesting them in the hoop with Joy and Luke and Laura on a very warm June morning and I remember heading out in the side by side late on a cool fall evening to gather armloads of grasses and goldenrod. And so as we prepare for our Dried Workshop, I’m anticipating all the good things and good people that will walk with these flowers whether preserved in a journal, formed into a wreath, or hanging from a nail.
All set up and waiting
Our Celebrate Winter Dried Workshop is Thursday, Jan 30 at Aunt Willie’s. We will create a full or crescent wreath and also a simple wall hanging. Come join us if you’re willing and able. No experience necessary and we’ll guide you through the learning process. We’d love to add you to our memory book for 2025.
even dahlias dry beautifully
And this year we’re adding an educational element to our workshop. We’ll explain how and at what stage to best harvest for air drying, what types of flowers dry best and keep the best color, and we’ll also demo how to dry flowers in silica sand. So after this workshop each will be ready for the season ahead and can start preserving their own flower memories for 2025. Click here or below for more workshop details and registration.
So here’s to Embracing Season’s Past… and all the memories that trail along
what’s not to love
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