Once flowers die, we’re left with the reminiscence and remembrance of good memories that we all eventually throw out because they are of no use to us anymore. Over the past years, I’ve realized dead flowers are just another way to keep old memories alive and turn them into something that could be viewed every day with nostalgia. 

To preserve the memories and keep the date in which you got the flowers known, all that is needed is a picture frame and a piece of paper. With the piece of paper, write the date in which you got the flowers in a very small font and then put the flower in the picture frame along with the piece of paper under it and close it up. Now,the flower is saved without having to throw it away and is a remembrance of the old times. On top of that, another way to keep a flower from getting thrown away is by taking off each petal of the flower—which works best with roses—and placing it in a clear mason jar as a cute knick-knack on your table. With this mason jar, this could also be a viable option to place pens and pencils in there, or anything of that sort, with the petals spicing it up. 

“I love using dead flowers because they remind me that life is short, that we shouldnt take things for granted, for it can be taken away as fast as a dead flower” said junior Ian Qi.

Dead flowers come with many benefits, such as their afterlife scents. Another way to repurpose a dead flower is to make it into a candle. All that is needed is wax, a jar for the candle, the petals, and a Wix cord, which are all very inexpensive and things you might have at your house already. The first step is to microwave the dried and dead flowers and then place them into a jar of dead sand. In this, you could keep microwaving until the whole project looked ready. Along with this idea of scents, dead flowers could be converted into a room pray. In order to do this, you need alcohol and a few essential oils. With a dilute solution of 1-1 ratio of witch hazel and water, drop 15-30 drops of your favorite essential oil and then add the flowers in as a decoration.

They would also be perfect as a cute source of spicing up your journal. Taking small pieces of your flower and taping it to a paper as a type of design, or to preserve the memories, and write about the day you received it would be perfect for this and easy without having to do much. Another easy way would just be to put them behind your clear phone case. Adding a design to your phone and carrying around a precious memory like that with you would be an easy and effective way to preserve it.

Lastly, another way would simply be just leaving it as is. Even though they are dead, they still have admirable traits that you could simply place in a vase for a long time to come without having to worry to water them. 

Take these DIYs and make sure to remember them when you’re on the verge of throwing away dead flowers, and for the holiday season where flowers will be in abundance, make sure to think about all the possibilities of dead flowers before tossing them.

Art courtesy of COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG