LADY BUG: TRY YOUR HAND AT DRYING FLOWERS FOR USE IN FALL DECORATING

It is drying time again.

While there are still flowers in the garden, this is the time to think of when there will be none, so collect blooms now to preserve for use in winter arrangements, pressed flowers, pictures, on wreaths, shadow boxes or potpourri.

Try your hand at drying flowers as colonial ladies did, and you will get an early start on your fall decorating. Garden flowers can still be used in containers, on velvet, burlap, or for wall plaques.

Some flowers may be air dried by hanging them upside down in bundles advises Barbara Laking in the most informative handbook, "Dried Flower Designs," published by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Plants that do not wilt readily, such as blue salvia, goldenrod, lark spur, grains and grasses, have long spikes with small blooms that lend themselves to this method.

The principle of any drying process is to remove moisture, which causes shrinkage. When flowers are small and short stemmed, placement and form are not affected, she maintains.

Large flowers with many petals, such as carnations, cone flowers, roses, zinnias and other long-stemmed types often wilt quickly after cutting and are not satisfactory for air drying. Silica-gel is the best method for those. Also, there is microwave drying, and preserving leaves.

To dry by air, cut flowers at their peak on a sunny day. This is almost directly opposite to methods for keeping flowers fresh. Choose a bright, sunny day and pick the time when the sun is on the flowers. Check to see if the dew and moisture have dried off the petals. Most flowers dry and hold their color best if picked just before they are fully open.

Strip off all the foliage, since leaves give off moisture to the foliage. Also, leaves do not dry attractively when still attached to their stems. However, some foliage, such as that of the rose, can be removed from the stem and dried flat in sand or pressed.

The easiest method of drying flowers is simply by hanging them upside down in a dark, dry place. Flowers termed "everlasting" which includes straw flowers, statice, money plant and celosia, are easiest to dry, and some wild flowers are suitable for drying. These include beebalm, sorrel, yarrow, golden rod and spikes of different grasses. Not the many new varieties of flowers recommended in catalogs.

Drying time will vary. It is important to check within a week or so. When flowers feel crisp, take them down and store in boxes or bags.

There are other drying agents that may be used for preserving the bounty of the garden or fields. Sand will work, fresh kitty litter, white cornmeal, borax (or a mixture of half and half of the latter) and others sold under different trade names are excellent.

Always pick flowers in the middle of the day. Cut stems one-half to an inch in length. Fill the bottom of a flat dish or cardboard box with an inch of the drying agent. Most flowers with many petals like zinnias, marigolds, calendula, chrysanthemums and asters do better facing up. Spikes of flowers like snapdragon and red salvia are best place horizontally.

Silica gel removes water from flower petals rapidly. Some will dry within 48 hours. Because the gel is able to dry flowers rapidly, the color is better preserved. Hyacinths must be removed from the silica gel after four days to let the stems dry thoroughly.

Dried leaves of Southern magnolia can be used year-round in dried arrangements by letting the stems soak in a glycerin and water mixture. Leaves treated this way remain soft and pliable with a rich satiny color. Clean the foliage thoroughly and remove any unwanted foliage. Pound stems with a hammer or split the lower two inches of the stem with a sharp knife to make them readily take up the solution. Stand the branches in a jar or slender vase, filled to a five-inch level with a solution of 1/3 glycerine and 2/3 water. When the process is completed to your liking, remove them from the solution and arrange them.

One of the speediest methods of drying flowers is by using the microwave. Almost all microwave cookbooks give specific instructions. Prepare a few flowers at a time in a dish with one of the drying agents in the microwave alongside a cup of water. Cook on medium for 10 seconds to 3 minutes depending on size. Most books give a chart for various flowers.

Potpourris are made by drying petals of roses on screens or trays of hydrators. Rose petals make up the bulk of the mixtures with other flowers and herbs, as well as spices and citrus peelings for additional scents. Also, 10 drops of an essential oil and 3 tablespoons of ground orris root to each quart of dried material make a preservative.

In the book previously mentioned, the author has contributed an interesting chapter on 18th century bouquets used in Colonial Williamsburg written in 1731, that might have inspired the colonists to dry many plants for their colonial arrangements.