Pressing Violas
Nothing is as friendly as a viola. Little flower faces that bloom throughout our mild Willamette Valley winters and keep on going the rest of the year. A garden bed of violas provides flowers for a variety of uses.
Pile of Sunshine
Even when the temperatures drop towards freezing, the violas keep blooming. Some are eaten by the deer and an occasional slug, but a surprising number survive to seed. New flowers keep poking up in the grass around out beds.
I am picking a handful to press for my journal pages. If possible, I pick the flowers when the morning dew has evaporated off in the sunshine. I clip the peduncle that attaches the flower to the stem as close to the back of the petals as possible so the flowers can lay flat. Although there are special papers for pressing flowers, I usually use whatever scraps I have on hand, as long as they do not have inks or dyes that may discolor the flowers. A piece of paper on each side of the flower, a smooth surface beneath and a few heavy books on top does the trick. Flowers are ready for use after they are completely dried.
