What flowers to dry - Part 4: Seed heads

What Flowers to Dry - Part 4: Seed Heads

Seed heads will add a natural and organic look to any display. Fortunately, there are endless plants to experiment with, and I've listed some of the most common ones below.

Letting some of your flowers go to seed is also very important for nature, as it means pollinators and insects can get to enjoy the flowers first before you cut the seed heads.

Top tip

Cut the seed heads when they are 'in the green', don't let them dry out on the plant.

Love-in-a-mist (Nigella):

• cut the seed heads when there is still a green tinge to the plant
• ideally, you need to cut them before the seed head has begun to open, otherwise the cutting will be too brittle

Honesty (Lunaria annua):

• cut in June or July when the plant is beginning to set seed
• you are looking for it to have a leathery feel, which indicates it is ready to cut – If you leave it too late, the plant may be too brittle to work with
• when you are ready to use the stem, remove the outer casing of the pod by carefully peeling away the outer layer
• this is a great plant to use in winter due to its silvery quality

Poppies (Papaver):

• there are many varieties, but the ones I like to work with most are field poppies, opium poppies and Icelandic poppies
• they are easy to grow yourself or to find in the wild

Cress/Mustard Family (Brassicaceae):

Some of my favourite varieties in the cress family are:

• Shepherd's purse
• Wrinkled cress
• Pennycress

Flax (Linum usitatissimum):

• flax has really tall stems with great movement, making it a good option if you want to add height to your display