Flowers: Keep the Beauty of Valentine's Day All Year Long

(ARA) - In addition to their romantic role as a traditional Valentine's Day token of affection, roses are a classic symbol of love and beauty. Red roses, the official flower of love, and the most popular flower exchanged on Valentine's Day, is representative of romantic love. However, roses in other colors, which bear less romantic meanings, such as yellow, pink, peach and white, are becoming increasingly popular each year.

Making Your Flowers Last

No matter what color roses you receive this Valentine's Day, the floral experts at 1-800-Flowers.com offer the following tips for drying your flowers and making the love last long past the holiday.

--Air Drying

The easiest method is air-drying. Roses can be dried individually or in small bunches. Remove leaves from stems and make sure that they are bunched loosely and that there is enough air circulating throughout the bunch. Hang the rose bunches upside down in a dark, dry, warm room. When the stems are dry and rigid (which should take about one to two weeks), the flowers are ready to be stored or used.

--Pressed Flowers

Another method to dry your roses is to press them. Weight pressing is a simple way to preserve individual or small bunches of roses. Simply place roses (whole buds or just the petals) between the pages of a heavy book. You may want to line the pages with wax paper to protect the book. Close the book and place something heavy on top. After two or three weeks, the flowers will be ready to be stored or used.

Using Dried Flowers

Once your roses are dried, they can be used in a myriad of ways. Whether you simply use the petals as potpourri, or you use the full blooms to create an elegant arrangement, your Valentine's Day roses will last for the remainder of the year. For an elegant look, place your roses, along with some floral accents, between two panes of clear glass and frame them. Flowers such as statice, strawflowers, larkspur, delphinium, safflower, baby's breath and mimosa are also ideal for drying and will make beautiful accents to your dried roses.

Visit www.1800flowers.com on the Web for a beautiful selection of roses and other Valentine's Day gifts.

Courtesy of ARA Content