How many of us have seen a beautiful flower and felt the urge to preserve it forever?  It might even remind you of a special person, event, or place in your life.  With the spring season upon us, many flowers are available for creating beautiful pressed-flower art projects. With simple techniques, it is possible to preserve the beauty of many blossoms at their peak from spring through fall.  

Two easy art projects are shared below, right, for those interested in hands-on learning about pressed flower art, or “painting with flowers.”

The Country Gardeners (TCG) began the 2026 season with a presentation in April on pressed flower art by members Madeleine Barry and Gloria Dierberger. They shared samples of their artwork and described the tools and processes used to press flowers.

Almost any type of flower, plant, leaf or grass can be pressed.  The best flowers to press have single, thin petals and low moisture content.  For flowers, generally, the flatter the blossom, the better the results.  Tubular blossoms can be folded in half or cut open and laid flat.  Thick blossoms, like roses, or ones with bulky centers, are best avoided.  

Some of the best flowers and plants to press are pansies and violas, daisies, cosmos, buttercups, forget-me-nots and Queen Anne’s lace, as well as ferns, leaves and grasses. Other good flowers to press are petals from geraniums and hydrangeas, bleeding hearts, cherry blossoms, salvia, larkspur and delphinium, lobelia, baby’s breath and aster.  Experiment with plants of your choice, as some yield better results than others. 

Pressing flowers requires the use of a flower press (or it can be done between two sheets of paper in a heavy book).  Flower presses can be bought online through Amazon, Walmart or Etsy, and range in price from $10 to $60.  Many come with tools needed to press flowers, such as a pair of tweezers, scissors, a cutting blade, acid-free tissue paper and envelopes.

For pressed flower art, use acid-free art paper to prevent yellowing or browning and to better preserve color. The type of glue that is recommended is Mod Podge.  For pressed flower art on glass votives or vases, dishwasher-safe Mod Podge is suggested.

Always pick new blooms when they are fresh and dry, not after rain.  Remember to gather leaves, stems and grasses too, which are essential to making pressed flower art.  The process of pressing flowers normally takes from two to three weeks.  Enjoy expressing your creativity with the art projects shown, and “painting with flowers” all season long.

The Country Gardeners meets on the first Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center, 126 Lamberton Lane in Hawley, PA.  The next presentation, on succulent dish gardening, will be on July 9. Plus Dana and Lydia Freethy from PJ’s Garden Center in Hawley will discuss plants that attract monarch butterflies. The speaker will be Tarry Truitt, club member and master gardener. 

Admission is free and refreshments are served.