Using Dried Hydrangeas
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Dried hydrangeas hiding light strings on top of kitchen cabinets. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
“Charlotte I have several hydrangea bushes and love the idea of drying the flowers but how do you use them? I don’t have a lot of space…” — Sam
Using Dried Hydrangeas
Hi Sam,
If I had to pick only one dried flower to have, it would be hydrangeas. Not only are they sturdy after drying but with a little care you can save them in different colors from white to blue.
One of the best ways to use dried hydrangeas is in those room corners where you want something green and floral but there is no light to use something growing in a pot.
These dried hydrangeas brighten up a small bathroom corner. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
They also come in handy potted for a dash of color on a front porch; from a distance they look like fresh flowers.
Recently I had enough dried hydrangeas that I could use them to update my kitchen and cover light strings and electrical plug ins at the corner of my kitchen cabinets.
For years I had these silk grapevine arrangements at the kitchen cabinet corners to cover the plug-ins. They sure look dated, don’t they.
These silk grape leaves have been hiding cabinet lights on top of kitchen cabinets. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
They were okay for awhile until I found these baskets and had a better idea. No, the baskets don’t all match, the trick is to know the maximum height for the space. The trick will be fitting the dried hydrangeas into the baskets to allow for some clearance at the top.
Baskets don’t need to be exact, just the right height. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Once the hydrangea flowers were dry, I sprayed them lightly with a clear acrylic spray to cut down on dried hydrangea flowers dropping. As they continue to dry, the flowers become brittle and have a tendency to fall apart if they don’t get a little help to be preserved.
A light coating of a clear acrylic helps preserve the flowers. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Depending on the size of the basket, one large dried hydrangea flower head was enough so I gave them a try.
Dried hydrangeas in baskets at kitchen cabinet corners. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
I will trim the stems a little more to lower the flower heads into the baskets.
Now in two cabinet corners, the electrical plug-in sockets stick out from the kitchen cabinet. Don’t even get my handyman started on those outlets, the first time he saw those he said “who in their right mind would have put them there??”
Good question.
And an even better question was how do I hide them.
These electrical plug-ins should have been installed more to the left. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
I tried a number of options from larger lower baskets full of dried hydrangea flowers to suggesting to my handyman if he could move those. He will add it to his (very long so far) to do list.
In the meantime, I let one of the dried hydrangea flowers “fall” out of a basket.
A dried hydrangea out of the basket helps to nicely finish off this corner. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Now when I come into the kitchen and turn on the lights, I don’t see the light strings or those unsightly plug-ins.
Hope this inspires you to think of other ways to use dried hydrangeas around your home!
