Real Estate Show Place 27 1976 Dry summer flowers for winter enjoyment By Knap of GUELPH Many flowers from garden and can be drld and used to mike inexpensive flora I arrange Flowers and other plant materials properly dried and preserved will provide lasting decorations for the winter Dried flowers arc ideal for areas with tow light and humidity There are many methods of drying flowers however the two most common are air drying and silica gel drying Air drying la the simplest and oldest method of flowering materials hut it is not suited to all specks Remove only the foliage from the flowering stems Then hang he items upside down In a warm dry place until they lost all of their moisture Plants with very little moisture content in the mature flower such as yarrow or straw lowers arc best suited to air drying Plants with many small flowering parts or clusters of small flowers such as baby breath or can also be hung to dry Although the Individual flower parts may wither or partially collapse in the drying process the overall form of the flowering stem and the flower color remain intact The success of air drying lowers depends on the flowers of maturity and on drying conditions A warm dry place without exposure to direct sunlight is best The area should be large enough to allow or adequate circulation of air around the plant material A warm dark attic or a large open closet is generally wellsuited lo drying flowers during he summer a work area in warm basement can be if he humidity is less tlinn CO percent preferably between and percent exposed to bright sunlight damp areas hose with poor air should be avoided Many delicate flowers and plant materials with high moisture contents can be pre served using silica gel a which absorbs moisture from he lower Florist wire is used to reinforce or replace lower stems before silicagel drying After wiring follow these steps to complete the drying process Place lowers in the con tamer on the silica gel face up or face down depending on the of he lower must not louih one another I Sprinkle silica gel around and lxtwtcn the petals cure fully until the entire bloom is completely buried Try to keep the flower petals in their natural position Cover the container seal with masking tape Place the container in a warm dry place until flowers are dried Once the flowers are dried they should be carefully removed from the Silica gel Dust off excess J gel from blooms with a llic greatest limitation of the method is liming It works so must Ik liken not to leave the blooms in the Irving cm excessive shrinking and burned petals The gel material can be used several times before it absorbs too much moisture and becomes Ineffective Drying the silica get crystals on on open pun in a warm oven F or 121 CI will restore effectiveness MILL STREET BAST ACTON ONTARIO EXECUTIVE HOME PANORAMIC VIEW Nulled In a wooded lot acre of privacy Long ranch lualed on a too of the refreshing surround countrywide 10 of excellent land own 3 2 HOMES 00 bedrooms large room and livng room stone often eat potential to shrewd purchase pool A few of euros ere sauna stone floor coil not re ftoplaces rol wide hell 17 Wide balcony on of 1h home has a rental of upper floor Lower level has room far bedrooms mould pay more than half of your mortgage To hop storage laundry area and double car garage etc Paved drive Barn 35 Many more antra buyer your mortgage could bo only par month Please phono lot particular and private Mutt be 149 ma location lhat a bo has commercial potential EDEN MILLS Custom 3 bungalow cosy I large Teh en and walkout la lol Tli order to realize quality and special features INGROUND POOL Tastefully decorated bedroom raised bungalow Futly finished room stone bat Lovely round pool TOWNHOUSE PER MONTH ioipor than rent only 1 BOO down erf ill now moMuiiQO plan 12 ACRES 00 Wood lot ponds close to Acton feet front WE HAVE MANY MORE LISTINGS FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PROPERTIES IN THIS AREA CALL US TODAY