Many of the roses I grow only bloom once a year, generally in the late spring (April/May) in my area). Over the years of growing roses and teaching about them, it was rare that a class I was teaching occurred during the times I had actual blooms of those roses I wanted a way to preserve some of those rose blooms so I could show them during other times of the year. I tried drying the blooms in silica gel (previous posts: Drying rose blooms (part 1), Drying Roses (part 2), Drying more blooms) but found that the results were too fragile to be hauled around. I then struck on the the idea of pressing the roses and presenting them mounted like herbarium specimens. I also found that doing so was period!
| Harder, Hieronymus: Herbarium vivum – BSB Cod.icon. 3 , [Sl] Southern Germany, 1576 – 1600 [BSB-Hss Cod.icon. 3] |
Between 2020 and 2023, I pressed a number of specimens from my garden and I taught a class online with Atlantia University in February 2022 demonstrating the process. However, I never got around to actually mounting the specimens. I had two flower presses filled with specimens and no room to press more (unless I purchased a third flower press)
Well, during the 2023 holiday break, I finally got around to mounting them and I also took the opportunity to photography all of my pressed roses. Only one of the specimens is not one I made. My Rosa eglanteria specimen was purchased from Ecobota. While I do grow the rose, I have not got a successful pressing of it … yet. Now that I have cleared out my flower presses, I will have space to try again.
Taking photos of them also allowed me to make an inventory of my collection and make a list of roses in my garden I have NOT got pressed specimens. Now I have a list of what roses I need to watch this spring for good blooms to press!