I remember as a young girl, the discovery of a pressed pansy found between the pages of my mother’s big old family bible. I was barely strong enough to hold the weight of it on my knee. I flicked through the once white pages, turned sepia, and can still recollect that earthy, musty smell of this old, old book. What I loved about this book was looking at the pictures scattered throughout the pages and pages of words. But finding a pressed flower between the delicate translucent-thin pages, held a special wonder that I recall to this day. I remember eagerly searching to see if I could find more of these hidden, pressed-as-thin-as-the-pages-were, flowers. I would return to this old book time after time to search and look at the flowers hidden within.

I feel like my cells themselves have memories and longings of that dear and organic time, and as I write this, escaping back to that treasured moment, I wonder, were these flowers placed here by my mum? What did she know about pressing flowers? Why had she chosen this day and this flower? Was there a special memory attached to this moment?

I do know she loved her garden. Growing up, my memories of her were that in any spare moment, she was in her garden. It was beautiful. It took up all the edges surrounding our home that sat on a 1/4 acre section. In the middle was a series of tall trees that separated the flower beds from the vegetable garden, and our home from the backyard. One of these trees was a giant eucalyptus, in which my dad built a tree house. I spent hours playing in the tree house, with my siblings and friends. From way up there we imagined and played out all kinds of fantastical adventures, and whenever I happened to peer down, I would see mum tending the gardens, and on the weekends my dad, tidying the yard.

Did my first love of flowers, and pressing flowers, start with her?

A little bit of Google research reveals that the ancient practice of pressing flowers is said to have originated in Japan in the 1500’s, and was called, Oshibana, meaning to paint a picture with natural elements. That just sounds beautiful to me. But surprisingly, it was those who had a violent profession who practiced this – the Samurai warriors! They used Oshibana to learn the importance of patience, concentration and living in harmony with nature. I wonder if it gave them a sense of balance, or a mechanism to escape the brutal trainings, practices and warrings that was their lifestyle? Life and death. Past and present. Strength and fragility. All seen in nature.

 
I love the beauty of flowers. I am passionate about designing with them. I am in awe of the way in which nature produces endless shapes, sizes and textures. Fresh flowers give me so much joy, and then the capturing of their beauty pressed on a page, gives me a sense of the value and preciousness of time. It evokes in me slowness in this fast paced world, a gentleness where business is often aggressive, time to reflect and stop and reminisce on this life that I live - full of moments and seasons, of beginnings and endings, of prunings and flourishings - the rhythms and cycles of life. 

“a pressed flower is like a memory; and like memories they change and fade over time. Flowers, with their brief little performance in the sun, have reminded many of the great poets and thinkers of their own mortality. Their fragility is a sharp and barely acknowledged pain. As the flower opens, it has already begun its dance with death. By cutting a flower and pressing it, we are extending its life and defying nature. We have in some way helped them to escape their inevitable fate.” (The Modern Flower Press: Preserving the Beauty of Nature)

 
Flower pressing has become popular again, as with many of the olde-worlde practices. For me, I have loved the simplicity of placing a variety of flowers in a homemade press, impatiently waiting the several weeks required, taking sneak peaks along the way, and finally when ready, creating a diary, a simple herbarium with these flowers, labeling them with their botanical names, and floriography meanings - producing something so authentically beautiful from nature.

I particularly love the idea behind the pressing of flowers with intentionality, and creating a nature filled journal of reflection and healing. It’s a simple activity but can hold a deeply emotional and spiritual place for meaningful living and healing -

If I could have stopped time, preserving the moment forever - This day the shadow of grief. That day the gloriousness of living. Nature reflecting the dark one moment and bright the next, with every mood in between. History, my story, kept in the preservation of the flower chosen, the mood upon which it was brought that day to this collection of life moments, now ‘held in time’. 

That, for me is what a pressed flower represents – the memory, and the sensory expression of that moment.

 
If you are of the same mind, love flowers, are nostalgic or creative, perhaps you could start your own press and herbarium. I think you’d love it! Here's a little how to -

Personally, I like to press flowers in a big heavy book. It feels more authentic to me. And its easy! It also carries the wonderful past memories I have associated with this way of pressing. But mostly, because of practicality and number of flowers I press, I use a flower press – literally 2 pieces of wood, tightened by 4 wingnuts and screws, with layers of cardboard and absorbent paper between.
In the warmer months, it takes only 2-3 weeks for the flowers to be fully dried and pressed. In the cooler months, I leave them a lot longer. Experimenting is fun. Some flowers dry better than others. Some really don’t work at all. If you have a flower whose bloom is a large full mass, you may need to slice through it, using only half of the flower before pressing it – this reduces risk of mould and gives a better visual aesthetic on the finished page, in my opinion.
Try pressing your favourite foliages as well.
If you want to mount your pressed flowers in a scrapbook, dab a little non-toxic, clear drying glue on the back and gently place in the desired position.
As a florist, I can identify many different flowers, but often once dried, I am surprised at how often I am unable to tell what they are, so always label your flowers, and if you want, delve into a bit of fascinating floriography (another practice from history) being the hidden meanings behind flowers.
Most of all, I hope you find enjoyment in your own pressing of flowers.

Floral Constructions -
I have recently discovered, floral constructions. Taking pressed flowers and foliage, combining bits and pieces of this flower, with that, to create new and unique constructions of flowers in a beautiful gardenscape, like a big bang of seeds that explode into unseen before varieties, each growing and flourishing into their own Garden of Eden. It’s kind of a beautiful expression of the creativity and incredibly diverse uniqueness that is within us all, expressed in an artform.