Dried flowers are bristling in an unexpected trend that extends into this winter, and if all that comes to mind is the perpetually molting pampas grass rippling from the back of the G-plan sofa in the years 80, it’s time to take another look at the decorative power of conservation.
Fake bud flowers and undressed shaggy flowers have already seen an incredible renaissance, setting aside these cheap and funeral plastic phonies, in a popular growth spurt of hand-assembled latex, paper and silk flowers, berries, branches and greenery.
The Victorians adored the off-season mystery of roses, teasels, ferns, and they used dried flowers for everything from the brightening up of their Gothic living rooms to the moss of their hats and dresses. It also suited their rather dark romantic lean towards the ephemeral nature of life, celebrated in the art and literature of the time. The pressing of flowers was regarded as a very feminine activity, and botany as a noble pursuit of the educated classes.
