How to Make a Dried Grass Bouquet

The art of floral arrangements is the topic of some high school (or college level) elective art classes, as well as the focus of some specialty workshops offered by many craft stores across America. The demand for florists tends to boom around special holidays such as Valentine's Day, where gifts of floral decadence are a means of saying, "I love you." However, for the rest of the year, floral arrangements can still serve to decorate our homes in a less romantic way. While some people choose to opt for silk flower arrangements, others choose the more "natural" option and decorate their homes with dried flower bouquets and wreaths. These types of arrangements can be purchased from specialty shops and perhaps some outdoor Saturday markets, but they can also be homemade. Additionally, while many people focus primarily on dried flowers in these decorations, the less-known option of using simply dried grasses and other "weeds" also exists. The latter option is generally much more affordable and looks great as a decoration that will last many years. Here are some of the various grasses and weeds that I have found particularly useful in creating dried grass bouquets that both last for a long time and are cost next to nothing.

1) Typical long grasses: These will provide the base/filler for your arrangement. Choose the type of weeds/grasses that have a head of seeds/dispersal agents on the top of them. While they tend to break easily and are fairly fragile, they are also very readily available in nature and you should have no problem plucking more than enough for a decently sized bouquet. One of the benefits to this type of grass is that it is already in its "dried" form; how it appears when you grab it looks very similar to how it will look ten years in the future.

2) Purple Loveliness: A short, weed- like natural ground cover found in the Pacific Northwest, this flower will provide a great addition to your dried grasses bouquet when it is dried. The head of the flower (the purple petals when un-dried) turns a deep brown color when dried and is very firm. This will provide a great variation to the lighter colored grasses and their more "dainty" appearances.

3) Dark Clover: Similar in concept to the above flower, the purple variety of clovers will also dry excellently and provide a wider range of "color" (shades of brown) to your dried grasses bouquet. Instead of the elongated head like both the grasses and purple loveliness has, clover's round shaped head/flower will also provide geometric variation to your arrangement.

4) Queen Anne 's Lace: This weed's flower is the perfect way to finish off your arrangement. Dry the flowers with the stems still attached by burying the head of the flower in a bowl of sand while being hung upside down; this way the flat shape of the flower will be retained fairly well when the flower is dried. Queen Anne's Lace will dry in an off-white color, providing the perfect complement to contrast the lighter brown grasses and the darker brown (once purple) flowers.