How to dry Hellebores (aka Winter Roses)

There's a lot of advice out there about how to dry flowers - lots of hanging upside down, some silica gel thrown in, even the odd mention of a dehydrator. I'm going to put another wild method out there that is my go-to process for drying hellebores in particular...

I've named it 'The Radiator Method'. It definitely isn't rocket science, it basically just involves putting your hellebores on a radiator (whether it's on or not) like so:

Hellebore flowers drying on a radiator

This method works really well for my purposes because I need to retain some of the stem. This way the stem can hang down the gaps in the grille and the flower still lies flat which means it keeps its shape. As the flower dries its shape will change so keep checking the petals sit correctly as they have a tendency to flop over to one side. You can rectify this early on, but leave it too long and they'll stay like that.

This method is my favourite because you really retain the curvy, wispy, delicacy of the petals and the colours stay true too. The drying process is quicker than many (particularly if it's winter and your radiator is on!) because there's a lot of airflow around the flower. The drying time is a week or so if your radiator is off and a few days if the radiator is on, but it will vary depending on the size of your flowers and temperature. You'll know they're ready when you can pick them up and they retain their shape.

You can see the end product in this piece. What do you think? What's your preferred method and how do the flowers turn out?

Dried Hellebore artwork