Dried Flowers and Pods

When I clear out the garden beds in the spring, I always get side-tracked by all of the cool seed pods and dried flowers. In many ways they are just as lovely as the flower in bloom, but in a different way. They are a kind of graphic art form.

I can’t help but think of printmaker Angie Lewin’s work when I see dried pods and flowers because her art is so inspired by them.

Some plants I purposefully let go in the fall. For instance, the purple coneflowers are a favorite of the goldfinches, so I leave them so they get fed in the fall and so I can enjoy watching them. 

Once all seeds are plucked from the coneflower, they look kind of like a girl in a grass skirt.

I usually cut back the Raspberry Wine Monarda in the fall, but a few were found here and there as I cleared out the beds. When you see the flower dried like this you understand why they are a favorite of the hummingbirds with their tubular shape. The shape seems more pronounced in its dried form.

This hydrangea flower has such an interesting skeletal look.

One of my absolute favorite seed pods is the Siberian Iris. What a fantastic shape and texture these pods have. You would never guess this was an Iris in the summer.

I like to gather some of the pods and use them as filler in floral arrangements or put them in vases by themselves. That way I get to really enjoy and appreciate their beauty.