Dried Seedheads & Pods

Autumn and winter are the best times to see what flowers produce the best seedheads that can be left on the plants to feed the birds and bugs and for harvesting for dried arrangements.

- Wendy Moulton

It makes sense to use what you can from your garden in your home like we cut fresh flowers for a vase. Seedheads can be very architectural and dried out for use in arrangements when fresh flowers are limited in the garden. Many iconic shapes are well known and sought after by flower arrangers that we can grow in our gardens and reap the benefits of their winter look. Some can even be dyed or painted for an extra modern look. These are my favourite dozen:

Poppies

Poppies of the oriental kind make the most sculptural dried pods with their bulbous round shape with a frilly hat on the top. You have to catch them before the thousands of tiny seeds escape. After flowering cut them down and tie them together to hang in a dry place to dry out in about 2 weeks. You can also leave them on the plants to dry out, but you may have to fight the birds.

Nigella

Nigella seed pods are puffy balls with scrappy bits of fringe surrounding them. They range in colour from bright green to purple and make for interesting dried specimens. Tie bunches of these together for an instant arrangement. They look weird enough when closed, but when they burst open to release their black seeds, they are serious inspiration for the next alien movie.

Hydrangeas

The seeds of hydrangeas are tucked beneath the dried petals of the flowers and this is what makes them so special. The colours of the petals as they dry range from lime green to dark burgundy and a host of colours between and they make for excellent dried colour in a vase. Often these are left on the plant in colder areas to protect new shoots through frosty spring.

Lotus