So, I got into this thing, making ‘les herbiers’, you know, pressing plants. It wasn’t some grand plan. I think I was just clearing out some old boxes and found a few flowers pressed in a book from ages ago. Looked kinda nice, fragile. Thought maybe I’d give it a proper go myself.
Getting Started – Just Doing It
Didn’t really know where to begin. Didn’t buy any fancy kit. Nah. I just grabbed what I had around the house. Heavy books, loads of old newspapers, that sort of thing. That was my press. Figured I needed plants first, right? So, I started walking around the garden, then the local park. Didn’t aim for anything specific, just picked whatever caught my eye. A few interesting leaves, some common flowers – daisies, buttercups, even some weeds that looked alright.
Here’s basically what I grabbed to start:
- Some big, heavy books (encyclopedias are great!)
- Stacks of newspaper
- The plants I found
- Scissors or shears (just basic ones)
The Collecting Part – Out and About
This became the fun bit, actually getting outside. Started paying more attention walking places. Noticed stuff I’d normally ignore. Went for walks specifically to look for plants. Sometimes it was great, sunny day, found some really nice bits. Other times, it rained, or everything looked a bit sad and wilted. You gotta pick stuff that’s dry, ideally. Learned that pretty quick after some early attempts went a bit mouldy. Found some nice ferns down by the old canal path. Got some wildflowers from the edge of Miller’s field before they cut the grass.
Pressing and Waiting
Back home, I’d lay the plants out carefully inside folded newspaper sheets. Tried to arrange them flat, how I wanted them to look. Then layered them up: newspaper-plant, newspaper, more newspaper-plant, newspaper… Stacked ’em up, put a board on top maybe, then piled on those heavy books. And then, you just wait. Weeks, usually. You need to let all the moisture get squeezed out. Changed the newspaper sometimes if I remembered, especially early on. It’s a slow process. Patience isn’t my strong suit, so this was a bit of a test.
Putting it Together – Making the Sheets
After they were totally flat and dry, like paper, I got some decent cardstock. Nothing too posh. Tried arranging the pressed plants on the page. This took ages sometimes, getting it right. Used a bit of clear glue, applied carefully with a toothpick, to stick them down. Then, the labeling. This is important, apparently. Just wrote down:
- What I thought the plant was (sometimes just a guess!)
- Where I found it
- The date I picked it
Handwrote it all straight onto the page, down in the corner. Kept it simple.
The Result? Well…
So now I’ve got this folder, maybe 20 or 30 sheets. It’s my own little collection. Some look great, really delicate. Others are a bit broken, or the colour faded weirdly. It’s not professional, not like the ones you see in museums. But I did it myself, from scratch. Walked around, picked the stuff, pressed it, stuck it down. Learned to identify a few more local plants, which is something. It’s quite satisfying, having this physical thing you made. Might do some more next spring, maybe try and get better at identifying them properly. It’s a work in progress, I guess. Like most things.