The Everlastings By Dennis Sons At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Everyone wants to know if there is a flower that can be planted in early spring, remain beautiful and one is able to look at the flowers for a long time. Well in fact, there is a plant and these are everlastings. Everlastings are plants that maintain their great shape, youth, and color many months after they have been clipped and dried. The best news is that these plants are not difficult to grow or dry.

Everlastings are quite different from many other types of flowers. Most of the species of everlastings have little or no moisture on the flowers. Moreover, they feel soft and dry to touch even before they are clipped and dried. In the past, there were no cut flowers available and everlastings were the only alternative flowers for the indoors.

Everlastings have a rich history and have been popular flowers in most cultures for centuries. In the latter part of 19th and 20th century, the popularity of everlastings decreased, partly because of availability of silk or synthetic flowers. Now things have changed again. Everlastings are again one of the most sought flowers for homes.

Today everlastings can be bought from almost any flower shop and the majority are imported from Europe.
Everlastings Types

Everlastings are easy to grow and often flourish in the garden without one knowing. Annual everlasting flowers include the following:

Ageratum
Bachelor’s buttons (Centaurea),
Basil flowers
Calendula
Celosia (cockscomb)
Dusty miller
Gomphrena (globe amaranth)
Larkspur
Scabiosa
Statice
Strawflower (Helichrysum)

Both salvia and marigold also are everlastings but since these flowers do hold on to a lot of ordinary moisture, they are trickier to manage when picked. These flowers are best picked just prior to ripeness and should be immediately dried in a warm environment, which is dry. Once they are dried, the flowers will reduce in size to half their original size.

Perennial plants used as everlastings include:

Allium flowers (both chives and garlic)
Armeria (true thrift),
Artemisia
Astilbe
Baby’s breath
Butterfly weed
Gaillardia
Hydrangea
Lavender,
Liatris
Monarda
Perennial salvias
Roses
Santolina,
Sedum.
Thistles
Yarrow
The majority of herbs sold also are everlastings, although not all have attractive flowers.
The most commonly used everlasting herbs include:

Lavender.
Mints
Oregano
Rosemary

Finally there are many varieties of grasses whose seed heads also develop colorful everlastings. To have a great indoor plant show, flowers are not the only segment of the plant for decorations. Plants like the Gaillardia makes furry circular seed heads that make nice decorations for the home. Other everlastings include the leaves of Artemisia and dusty miller. Shrubbery is often the background for garlands/wreaths, with blooms and seedpods as decorations.

The majority of everlastings have a long flowering season, usually from June to October, depending on the season. The plants are easy to grow and there is usually a nearly 100 percent germination rate. One can use everlastings as a feature in the garden, along driveways, or as cut or dried flowers or as an unusual gift or keepsake.

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