PRESERVING THE SEASONS
Ephemeral Earth
HERBARIUM JOURNALS
‘‘What remains when beauty passes?’’
A question I asked my recently while pressing the first flowers of the year, snowdrops, between the pages of my herbarium journal. I was left wondering if beauty would be so precious to us if it wasn’t so fleeting and how our attempts to preserve it are both futile and meaningful.
What began as a simple gathering of flowers which are carefully laid between pages, became a meditation on impermanence.
Of course, a fresh flower is beautiful, but there is a deeper, more nuanced beauty in the gentle transformation that only comes with age. Those wrinkled, faded petals, just like my own skin which is beginning to wrinkle, hold a wisdom beyond their youthful form, like a testament to the enduring power of memory and the ephemeral nature of our existence on this shared Earth of ours.
When you press a flower picked on a morning walk or one saved from a bouquet from a significant day, you're saying, "This moment matters, the beauty and memory of this day is worth preserving."
The act becomes part of the continuous, evolving story of your life.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as I’m noticing my own face and body age, tracing the lines that tell my story; each pressed bloom reminds me of a truth I often forget: that change is not an ending, but a transformation.
Some of the flowers I’ve pressed over the years remind me of difficult times, they don’t all hold cheerful stories, but nonetheless, it’s sort of comforting to know that the flowers I’m preserving today will be around long after I’ve turned to dust and become part of the earth, this thought in itself is wild to me… each part of the pressed flower tells a story much older than me, older than words and more complex than memory.
Recently, my Mum gave me an old gardening book which belonged to my late Grandmother, while flipping through the book I found a tiny rose, an Arabian Gulab, and a single leaf she’d pressed in the book, it made me wonder about the moment she placed them there — ‘‘What year was it? Where was she when she picked them.’’ Her well-worn gardening book rested in my hands, whispering stories of her love for gardening and I was filled with a bittersweet feeling; my nana was close! I could even smell the scent of her warm, woody and floral perfume, feel the softness of her silk scarf and her voice telling me not to water the Hibiscus plant in her conservatory too much.
What is a pressed flower if not a visual poem?
It’s unlike a photograph's sharp-edged truth, it’s a softer revelation of the soul of a fleeting moment caught between time and stillness, inviting one to linger in the complexities of texture, emotion, and memory that are often obscured in images.
Creating a herbarium, like all creative acts, is an act of paying attention, and creating one inside a journal is a wonderful way to document a moment from your day when you are all out of words, on days when emotions are too complex to articulate, which for me is most of the time.
Pressing botanicals is a simple and quick way to spend some time creatively, especially for those that find it hard to keep up with writing in a journal, but still have the desire to keep a journal in some form.
I generally just add the name of the pressed botanical and a date, but sometimes I write a short account of where I found it or something significant about the day.
My process is simple, I don’t use any fancy equipment. I simply arrange the flowers on a page of one of our Ephemeral Earth herbarium journals, usually on the right side, I then close the journal and place a few heavy books on top of it and let it rest for a week or two depending on what I’m pressing. That’s it!
I find using a few heavy books for weight has worked out much better for me rather than using my Victorian cast iron bookbinding nipping press, which can be too much weight! Using heavy books instead allows air to circulate, which dries out the specimen faster and prevents mold forming.
This year I want to try and document the many flowers growing around where I live. So far I’ve pressed several snowdrops, hellebores and crocuses, daffodils are next, there are thousands of them on the grounds of Ellergreen Park ready to burst open in a symphony of yellow!
It all began with explorers and botanists creating living archives of the world's botanical diversity, telling a story of soil, sunlight, and climate change.
The practice of pressing and preserving botanical specimens has a rich history that bridges scientific study and artistic expression. In the absence of photography, early naturalists began to document their findings through meticulous observation and collection. By pressing plants between the pages of their journals, they not only created a record of species but also transformed these specimens into art. Each pressed flower and leaf encapsulated the unique characteristics of a specific time and place, revealing insights into the ecosystems from which they came.
This meticulous art allowed for the documentation of flora from different regions, providing insights not only into the plants themselves but also into the environmental conditions they thrive in. By collecting, pressing, and mounting these specimens, early naturalists crafted intricate records that continue to inform contemporary research while celebrating the beauty of botanical forms, textures, and colours. Each pressed specimen serves as a visual narrative, encapsulating the interrelationship between nature and our understanding of biodiversity.
It’s all quite fascinating!
This blend of science and art allowed for a deeper understanding of local flora and climate variations. Botanists cataloged plant varieties for future reference, while artists drew inspiration from the intricate shapes, colours, and textures of the specimens they handled.
I was never good at science when I was school, but when it came to drawing diagrams of plants or pressing them for viewing under a microscope, I always did well! In fact one of my friends who went on to study botany always got me to draw plant diagrams for her homework, she hated doing it, but I enjoyed it!
The practice of collecting and curating herbariums globally became vital in the quest to understand biodiversity and its shifts over time, particularly in the face of climate change.
As the world evolved, so too did the methods of documentation. Yet the legacy of those early endeavours remains, reminding us of the intrinsic link between nature, art, and the pursuit of knowledge.
Image copyright: Kew Gardens.
I recently learnt that Kew Gardens' herbarium are beginning to digitise some of the 7 million botanical specimens they hold for everyone across the globe to access; this is very exciting news!
The oldest botanical specimen Kew Gardens holds is from 1696! I
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS- THE HERBARIUM
KEW GARDENS’ DIGITISED HERBARIUM
Kew’s herbarium is open to view by the general public on special events and open days.
It was only a matter of time before pressing botanicals became a creative medium for artists and writers to explore.
Emily Dickinson meticulously collected and preserved plants in her personal herbarium, using them as a source of poetic inspiration.
Anna Atkins, a pioneering botanist and photographer, made botanical preservation an art form through her incredibly beautiful and groundbreaking cyanotype photograms, creating stunning blue-tinted botanical prints that transformed her pressed botanicals into breathtaking visual poetry. They were scientific archives, artistic expressions, and an intimate connection to the natural world, capturing the delicate beauty of plants in a moment of suspended time!
When I first came across Anna Atkins work, I was blown away, because the cyan/indigo shade of blue is my favourite colour of all and photography is my first love, which in an uncanny way brought me to my second love of bookbinding. I was so inspired by Anna Atkins’ cyanotypes created with pressed botanicals that I went on to making a whole collection of journals called Indigo Blues, using the same process combined with indigo shibori dyed linen which I turned into book-cloth.
Softback herbarium journal with hand block printed and painted motif.
Other than just pressing botanicals and leaving them in your herbarium journal for your personal enjoyment, there is so much more you can do with them.
Here are some of the ways to use pressed botanicals:
Embellishing cards and invitations: Arrange pressed flowers on greeting cards or invitations for a natural touch.
Framing artwork: Create pressed flower artwork by carefully arranging flowers on a piece of paper and framing it.
Bookmark decoration: Glue pressed flowers onto cardstock to create bookmarks for a personalised touch.
Jewellery making: Incorporate pressed flowers into pendants or earrings with a clear glass or resin cabochon.
Journal embellishment: Stick pressed flowers onto journal pages for a unique look.
Decoupage accessories: Glue pressed flowers onto small objects like hair clips or phone cases.
Potpourri creation: Add pressed flowers to a potpourri mix for fragrance.
Tea tray decoration: Create a decorative tea tray by gluing pressed flowers onto its surface and sealing with a piece of glass or with a decoupage medium such as Mod Podge.
Remember, the next time you chose to preserve a flower, with the same reverence one might offer a cherished letter or a faded photograph, you're capturing a fragment of your day, a lived experience, as intricate and layered as the memories that bloom within us.
I find the whole process of pressing flowers so romantic, beautiful and meditative, it’s an art that transforms the beauty of something so ephemeral into something that will live on for hundreds of years after we’re gone.
What remains when beauty passes?
A pressed flower whispers, everything and nothing.
Press & Preserve
5 TIPS ON PRESSING BOTANICALS
Gather with Intention and Care: Firstly, do not pick wildflowers without following the 1-20 Rule, which means if there are twenty plants, it’s ok to pick one of them [without the root, of course] as long as it’s not a protected species. Choose flowers at their peak, preferably on a dry day. Use a pair of shears to cut the stems to avoid damaging the plant or disturbing the roots. Make sure you know which plants are poisonous! Use a plant identification app if unsure.
Not all flowers press well, go for flowers with delicate petals, thicker flowers such as roses or dahlias, although they can be pressed, I think they are better dried by hanging them upside down so they retain their shape.
Prepare Your Canvas: Use absorbent paper that will draw moisture away quickly, such as old newspaper, blotting paper or handmade cotton rag paper which is not treated with gelatin size like our Ephemeral Earth herbarium journals.
Arrange with Care: Place flowers on to the pressing paper carefully, ensuring petals and leaves are flat.
Apply Gentle Pressure: Use a heavy book or use a dedicated flower press. Our Ephemeral Earth herbarium journals work like a flower press when a bit of pressure is applied from heavy books.
Practice Patience: Some flowers may take 2-4 weeks to dry out and press completely. To avoid mold developing, I like to take my Ephemeral Earth herbarium journal out of from under the weight at least twice a week to allow air to circulate.
The Natural History Museum shares more tips on pressing botanicals.
Limited Edition
Some-of-a-kind
EPHEMERAL EARTH
HERBARIUM JOURNALS
Softback journals covered with linen, embellished with a block printed and painted motif with gold gilding.
