Harvest and dry flowers for year-round enjoyment

By MELINDA MYERS

Contributor

Enjoy your flower garden's beauty all year long. Harvest and dry a few flowers to use in flower arrangements, craft projects or as gifts for friends and family.

Pick the flowers when they are at peak bloom and blossoms are dry. Cut flowers for drying mid-day when they contain less moisture in order to reduce the dry time.

Use a bypass pruner or scissors to cut the stems. Remove the foliage and gather them into small bundles. Secure the stems with rubber bands that contract as the stems shrink and continue holding them tight. Use a spring-loaded clothespin to hang t...