Ina Garten’s Dried Hydrangeas Are the Ultimate Way to Enjoy Flowers All Winter – Here’s How to Do It
Inspired by Ina Garten, learn how to dry, style, and store hydrangeas so you can enjoy beautiful blooms all winter long.
When Ina Garten (or the Barefoot Contessa, as many still remember her) shares any kind of decorating tip, it’s safe to assume we should not only listen, but that it will be equal parts gorgeous and absolutely genius. So, when she posted a simple vase of dried hydrangeas to her Instagram recently, it felt like the permission slip we didn’t know we needed: flowers don’t need to be fresh to earn a place at the table. In fact, sometimes dried ones are the real overachievers.
For gardeners who are staring out at a frozen yard or depressingly bare stems, Ina’s dried hydrangeas are the perfect winter flower display to raise your spirits. If you grow hydrangeas or can source them from a garden store, you can preserve them and enjoy them all season long, no weekly water changes required.
The Secret Is When You Cut Them
If you want to dry hydrangeas, the process starts long before winter comes. As with many things in life, timing is everything, and the biggest mistake gardeners often make is cutting the flowers too early.
So, when should you cut them? Late summer and into early fall is ideal. The petals should feel slightly papery and be starting to mature, but it’s a fine balance. The petals should still be able to hold their shape and color, but you don’t want to cut them when they’re too soft; they will wilt rather than dry.
Use a pair of sharp pruners and cut long stems, longer than you think you’ll need. You can always trim them back later, but the length gives you some flexibility with how you want to style it.
These Fiskars bypass pruners, available on Amazon, are super sharp and can cut anything from branches (which might help with the bottom part of the hydrangeas) to light stems when you want to cut the tops.
How to Dry Hydrangeas (Without Complicating Things)
Drying flowers sounds complicated, but fortunately, hydrangeas are some of the easiest. They’re also super low-maintenance. One of the most common methods, and often the most reliable, is to simply air dry. Strip the leaves from the stems, bundle two or three large hydrangea blooms together, and hang them upside down in a cool, dry, well-ventilated space such as a closet, basement, or spare room. This Pretyzoom Dried Plants Rack is a circle full of clips, so when you need to hang it or store it, there is always space.
Another less popular, but still reliable method is “water-drying,” which sounds counterproductive, but it actually works. Put your freshly cut hydrangeas in a vase with just an inch or two of water and then simply leave them alone. As the water evaporates, the flowers will naturally dry while still retaining that lovely “bouquet” shape. This is a great method if you like fuller flowers with a softer, less brittle look.
Pro Tip: Whichever method you choose, you will need a whole lot of patience. Drying hydrangeas can often take two to three weeks, and touching them will only slow things down. Place them in a spot you don’t often look or go to in hopes that you’ll forget about them for a bit.
Hydrangea Drying Essentials
The bypass action of these durable pruners is Ideal for cutting delicate stems as it makes them less likely to cause damage.
This charming wooden herb-drying rack can also be used for hydrangeas. It holds 10 bouquets and has adhesive wall hooks for easy hanging.
Protect dried flowers from sun fade with this floral protectant spray. A light spray will help the petals retain more of their color.
Keeping Color and Shape Intact
Not all hydrangeas are created equal in terms of color. Blue and purple colors tend to get darker as they dry, while pinks often fade into a soft blush or antique rose tone. White hydrangeas dry into a lovely creamy parchment color, which matches just about anything.
To keep the color, put your hydrangeas out of the way of direct sunlight. While we think of sunlight as being something flowers love, the dried variety isn’t as much of a fan (unless you’re going for a rustic, farmhouse look, and to be fair, this also has its charm).
Pro Tip: Once your blooms are fully dried, lightly mist them with unscented hairspray, which can help dried petals stay attached, but don’t overdo it.
Styling Dried Hydrangeas All Winter Long
This is where Ina’s influence really shines. Dried hydrangeas don’t require complicated arrangements. A single, oversized bunch in a ceramic vase feels calm and highly curated.
If you want, you can group several stems together for a super full look or mix your dried hydrangeas with bare branches like eucalyptus or ornamental grasses.
Dried hydrangeas are perfect for dining tables, entryways, or coffee tables; anywhere you would normally have fresh flowers in summer. And, the best part? Nobody will accuse you of neglecting them. You might even get some compliments!
If you like Ina’s arrangement on Instagram, you can replicate the look with these white ceramic cylinder vases from Target.
How to Store Them for Next Year
If you want your hydrangeas to last into spring (or even next winter) proper storage matters a lot. To store your hydrangeas, keep them in a dry space where there is no humidity (similar to where you airdried them) and be sure you don’t crush the blooms. Wrap the stems in loose tissue paper or stand them upright in tall boxes.
If you handle them gently, your dried hydrangeas can certainly last you several years, and you won’t even have to get dirt under your fingernails to put them on display. Ina Garten would certainly approve, and for us, that’s honestly enough reason to try.
