~Harvest Time~

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.
For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.

~Edwin Teale

On many Easter Sundays, when I was a youngster, I was given a small Carnation corsage to wear to church.  Afterward, I pressed the corsage between the pages of my Bible. 

The Carnations are gone.  I still have my childhood Bible.  Written inside is the date it was given to me; December 25, 1955.

I have only tried a few times pressing or drying flowers, since those long ago days.

Rhoda, at Southern Hospitality, pressed a few fern fronds between magazine pages, last month, and wrote about it HERE.

I was inspired to try pressing fern fronds from our patio garden. 

Several fronds were cut from Boston Ferns, in hanging baskets and a few from perennial ferns growing beside the patio.

Even with Summer at it’s end, the color is still good.  If these do well, I may try pressing ferns harvested during early Summer, next year.

 

I am sure there is a more efficient process for pressing flowers. 

As usual, with my projects, I am flying by the seat of the pants.

I placed dry fronds between sheets of waxed paper and weighted them with several magazines.

These are fern fronds after a couple of days pressing.  I will leave the fronds between the magazines a few more weeks.

I have no idea what I will do with the ferns, if I’m successful; I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I found this link with flower and leaf pressing information:

http://www.preservedgardens.com/how-to-press.htm

I may cut more fronds and try conditioning them, as the article suggests, before pressing.

The link below has information about gluing the pressed flowers or leaves for framing.

A spray preservative, found at Michael’s and/or other floral craft sources, is mentioned in the article.

http://www.preservedgardens.com/glue.htm

I’ll post again, in a few weeks, with the results. 

In the meantime, if you have ferns or other foliage you would like to preserve for framing, I invite you to give leaf pressing a try.

 

ANSWERS

I was asked about the secretary in the foyer.  It is not an antique; it is by Hooker Furniture.  The link shows the secretaries available. I didn’t see ours on the website.  We purchased ours about three years ago.

The bespectacled reading bunny got a lot of attention in the Fall Foyer post. I found the bunny at The Missouri Botanical Garden (St Louis), during the Orchid Show, last winter.

My friend JoAnn passed along the 417 magazines, I used to press the ferns.  This is a publication about happenings in southwest Missouri.

A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air.

~Eric Sloane

Linking to The Tablescaper’s Seasonal Sundays.

Because the process of floral/leaf pressing is a metamorphosis, of sorts, I am adding this to Susan’s Metamorphosis Monday.

I love this!

I love the kids too! This photo of two of our younger grandchildren was taken by our eldest granddaughter, who is trying to grow a photography business.  She has photographed her cousins and baby brother since they were newborns. 

Of course, I think she is a wonderful photographer and the kiddo’s are all great models.