How to press flowers
Press flowers and leaves flat in a heavy book or a simple homemade press, ready for cards, frames and bookmarks.
- Time
- 20 minutes, then 2 to 4 weeks drying
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Cost
- Low cost
- Steps
- 6
- Checked
What you’ll need
- Fresh flowers and leaves, picked when dry
- A heavy book (or a flower press) Search Amazon for flower press
- Kitchen paper, tissue paper or blotting paper
- Extra books or weights
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Safety first
- Some garden plants are toxic or irritant: wash hands after handling and supervise children.
- In Great Britain it's illegal to uproot any wild plant without the landowner's permission, and some rare species are protected even from picking: if in doubt, leave it.
Step by step
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Step 1: Pick the right flowers
Choose flat or fairly thin flowers such as pansies, violas, daisies, cosmos and ferns. Pick them on a dry day once any dew has gone. Only pick from your own garden or with permission, and don't pick wild flowers in protected places.
Next: step 2 -
Step 2: Prepare them
Trim stems, remove any damaged petals and lay out the flowers face down or in profile. Thick flowers like roses can be cut in half or petals pressed separately.
Next: step 3 -
Step 3: Layer them in a book
Open a heavy book towards the back. Lay two sheets of kitchen or tissue paper on the page, arrange the flowers so they don't touch, and cover with two more sheets.
Next: step 4 -
Step 4: Close and weigh down
Close the book carefully and stack more heavy books on top. Keep it in a warm, dry place, such as an airing cupboard.
Next: step 5 -
Step 5: Wait
Leave for 2 to 4 weeks until the flowers are completely dry and papery. Check after a week and swap damp paper for fresh.
Next: step 6 -
Step 6: Use them
Lift them with tweezers. Fix to card with a tiny dab of PVA glue, or sandwich in a frame or under clear sticky-back plastic.
Tips
- Kitchen paper stops petals staining your book.
- To press faster, some people use an iron on a low, no-steam setting between paper sheets: watch carefully and don't let it scorch.
Questions people ask
Why have my flowers gone brown?
Usually because they were damp when picked or the paper stayed wet. Pick dry flowers and change the paper.
Do pressed flowers keep their colour?
Most fade a bit over time, especially in sunlight; keep finished pieces out of direct sun.
Sources
Checked 9 October 2026. We wrote this guide in our own words, using:
- RHS School Gardening: Pressing flowers and leaves (schoolgardening.rhs.org.uk)
- RHS: Make a pressed flowers frame (rhs.org.uk)
- legislation.gov.uk: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 13 (protection of wild plants) (legislation.gov.uk)
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Printed from howtoguides.uk/guides/how-to-press-flowers/ · Checked 9 October 2026 · General information only. For gas, electrics, structural work, medical, legal or money decisions, use a qualified professional.