DIY: make hanging cut flower arrangements of dried herbs

Summer is THE season for preparing preserves, jams and jars that will last the rest of the year. Among seasonal activities, making dried bouquets of aromatic herbs is another little pleasure, so easy to do! Here are some tips to choose them well and dry your herb bunches by hanging.

Which aromatic herbs to choose for drying?

All Mediterranean aromatic herbs are suitable for a dried bouquet. Count, of course, on the traditional rosemary, thyme, bay laurel, oregano, sage and savoury, some of which feature in herbes de Provence. Also consider herbs that tolerate this preservation method and make delightful herbal teas all winter long, such as mint, lemon verbena, lavender or lemon balm. Helichrysum, tarragon, hyssop and fennel inflorescences are also ideal for hanging-drying, as are medicinal herbs.

Some aromatic herbs, being more tender, are less suited to herb bouquets because they lose a lot of flavour. This is the case for delicate herbs such as parsley, chives or basil.

Prefer therefore semi-woody or shrubby plants whose tougher leaves make wonderful herb bouquets.

Preparing and drying your aromatic herbs

Drying a garden harvest of herbs is not only pleasant, it’s a fun activity to try with children during summer holidays. They will love it and may even enjoy the vegetables served with them more. 🙂
And, besides, it smells wonderful!

Harvest herbs in the morning, once dew has evaporated, using scissors or a clean pruning shear
Gather each herb into a bunch of around ten stems, without cutting the flowers
Tie them individually with string or raffia
Hang the bunches one by one (they do not all dry at the same rate), on a wooden towel rail, in the garage or the loft attached to the rafters, etc. In any case, hang them high for good ventilation, and away from sun and moisture. If you don’t have a loft, a ventilated cupboard or a little-used room will do.
You can also dry different herbs flat on a clean cloth, in a dark room. In that case, turn them regularly (especially if you want to keep the dried bunch intact for making dried bouquets).

Drying time depends on the herb and ambient temperature, with mid-summer taking between ten and fifteen days at most. Aromatic herbs are ready for use or repacking when leaves and stems snap under the finger.

NB: some herbs darken slightly during drying; this does not alter their aroma.

Storing dried herb bunches

These bunches retain their aromatic power for many months provided they are stored correctly.
You can keep them as they are, hanging in a cool, dry place, and use as needed, but make sure dust does not settle on them, which can be tricky! To avoid dust, wrap bunches in a perforated paper bag or a fine mesh bag.

Making your own jars of dried herbs, ready to use in the kitchen, is often what people prefer. Once completely dry, plants are roughly crushed by hand or with a pestle, then stored in airtight glass jars or jam jars (a cork stopper or a rubber seal on the jars), or even in linen or cotton bags. This allows you to make your own blends as you wish!

Stored in oil, dried herbs can be used to make homemade flavoured oils.

Finally, these hanging-dried herb bunches are perfect for dried bouquets, combined with a few dried flowers for home decoration. They should simply not be placed in sunlight, as they fade faster over the months.

Using dried herb bunches

Make your own herbal tea blends, create your own herbes de Provence — these are two popular ways to use home-dried herbs. Use them too to make your own herb-flavoured salt, so easy to prepare. Each herb can of course be stored separately in pretty containers that also decorate the kitchen. I personally always keep a large jar of dried oregano to hand all year!

Dried aromatic herbs are useful beyond the kitchen: to fill small sachets to scent linen and to combat moths, they are queens, with granny’s recipes passed down through generations.

They can also be used in the bathroom powdered with dried nettle, or to make lotions with rosemary for example (see our topics Bath tea with plants and Healthy, thriving hair thanks to plants in your garden). Finally, a mixture of dried lavender and helichrysum flowers will compose a very trendy country-style dried bouquet and some aromatics (lemon balm, marjoram, rosemary, sage, lemon verbena, hops) will enrich a pot-pourri with old-fashioned charm! Virginie also gives advice on making fumigation bundles with sage.