After the summer growing season comes to a finish, preserve that valuable remaining bounty of herbs for a beautiful indoor display that will keep on giving throughout winter. In addition to imparting culinary taste, herbs could be turned into cosmetic bouquets that offer a homey, soothing texture and odor.
Herbs like rosemary, lavender, thyme, summer savory, bay, dill, marjoram, oregano, lavender and peppermint work best for decorating, due to their low moisture content. Drying these plants indoors will yield decent color and taste.
Should you hang the herbs upside down to dry, you’ll get straight, firm stalks that can then be displayed vertical, like this bunch of lavender. Or you may turn fresh stems into a wreath. Cut young, pliable branches as long as possible. This rosemary wreath contains five branches about 18 inches long which are tied together with twine. As time passes the fresh stems will dry into shape.
Hint: If an herb’s stalks are too flimsy to be molded into a wreath, utilize a bendable tree branch (like birch or willow) to give it stability.
Burpee
Herb & Flower Drying Kit – $14.99
Drying racks are a non invasive accessory which could hold multiple bunches through the drying process. Use them as practical tools or let them showcase the bouquets permanently.
Amy A. Alper, Architect
Here a drying rack in the kitchen primary work area provides access to the dried produce in addition to visual inspiration all season long.
Theresa Fine
Many herbaceous plants come in various varieties. There are several forms of sage, by way of instance, in colors from lotions and grays to greens, yellows and purples. Layer multiple kinds of the same herb, either at the exact same bunch or alongside one another, for a more intriguing exhibit.
For the best cooking results, harvest herbs just before the flowers open. But if your intention isn’t to cook together, but instead to delight in their beauty, you can wait until they blossom. Flowering herbs, like the purple blossoms of lavender and eucalyptus, can present your decorations much more personality.
The Brickman Group, Ltd..
Cut the most powerful branches you can find, about three to four times the sum you want to end up using for your bouquet, as the drying process will lead to shrinkage — maybe more than you may imagine.
Hint: Pick huge bouquets for displaying and smaller bouquets just for cooking. Remember that dried herbs are normally about three to four times more powerful than fresh, so a tiny bouquet will go a long way in cooking.
Strip the branches’ leaves. This is the opportunity to take any stained or damaged components; they won’t look or taste great. Inspect for germs. Rinse in cool water and gently shake off the excess moisture.
Tie the bunch tightly with twine in the leafless base.
Fabrizia Frezza Architecture & Interiors
Initially tie only five to 10 stems or branches with each other to allow for venting. Once they’ve dried, you are able to blend these smaller bunches into larger ones.
Dried herbs and flowers over the table add a warm, rustic feel.
Canterbury Design Kitchen Interiors
Herbs drying pegs over this kitchen window act like an natural window therapy.
Bruce Kading Interior Design
Exposed ceiling rafters are fantastic areas for hanging dried bouquets. Nails and hooks work good for this function.
Battle Associates, Architects
If you prefer not to place holes into your walls or beams, tie herbs into a pot rack.
Highmark Builders
And don’t think herbs need to be stored in rooms which revolve around eating and dining table. Here they add interest and odor to a laundry-mudroom.
Theresa Fine
This home features an amazing scene of herbs hanging nails close to a fireplace.
Agnes Blum
Dried lavender in a jar is a colorful display on this bathroom vanity.
Inform us : How do you decorate with the bounty from your garden?