Dried flowers: how to display them so they last
A dried flower arrangement, looked after properly, can last two to three years before it starts to look genuinely tired. Most dried flowers that fade or fall apart early do so because of humidity, direct sunlight, or being handled too much. None of those are difficult to avoid once you know what to watch for.
The main enemies: light and moisture
Direct sunlight bleaches dried flowers faster than anything else. A wreath hung on a south-facing door in summer will lose most of its colour within a few months. The same wreath in a hallway away from direct light will hold its colour for a year or more.
Humidity is the other problem. Bathrooms and kitchens are not good places for dried arrangements. The moisture causes stems to soften and can introduce mould, particularly in denser materials like strawflower heads and lagurus grass. A living room or bedroom, away from radiators, is usually the best spot.
Handling and dust
Dried flowers are more fragile than they look. The stems become brittle and the flower heads can shed if handled roughly. The best way to clean a dried arrangement is with a hairdryer on the coolest setting, held at a distance, to blow dust off without touching the stems directly.
If a stem breaks, it can usually be reattached with a small amount of florist wire. Laura includes a short care note with every dried wreath that goes out from the studio.
When to let go
After two or three years, most dried arrangements will have faded enough that they look dusty rather than intentional. That's the point to replace them. The stems can go into a compost bin. The willow base of a wreath can be reused if it's still intact.
The studio makes new dried wreaths through the year, with the palette shifting by season. The summer wreaths use strawflower, lagurus, and dried cornflower. The autumn wreaths bring in seed heads, dried grasses, and occasionally preserved oak leaves.
The dried wreaths currently in the studio use stems dried for three weeks before they leave. If you want to see the current palette, the product page has photos from this season's batch.