SEQUIM — Ropes of drying hydrangeas accompany the turning leaves and chilling weather as sure signs of fall for Su Howat.
Howat, a longtime resident of Sequim, has 65 bushes of hydrangeas, having recently given 15 of her original 80 bushes to her niece.
Every summer, they blossom into a multitude of tiny tight bouquets of pale florets.
Howat will use dozens of drying blossoms in a class from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in Howat’s barn at 302 Ward Lane in Sequim, where she will teach students how to make wreaths from the blossoms.
“The wreaths will be 15 to 16 inches across, and to make them, you don’t have to be skilled at all. Anyone can do this,” she said.
The class is $25. Attendees need bring only a glue gun. Howat will supply all other materials.
Howat said she waits for the perfect time to pick the blossoms so they will maintain both their color and shape.
For the perfect result, Howat said, those with mophead hydrangeas should wait until the tiny flowers in the center of each of the individual blossoms open and fall off.
“When that little flower falls off, that is when you should pick them,” she said.
Hydrangeas hold their color for about a year after drying, she said.
“Some people keep them longer, but they really don’t look that good,” she said.
“This [the time to dry hydrangeas] is just something that is a sign that fall is here at last.”
Howat hangs the blossoms upside-down to ensure that they hold their shape.
“The Martha Stewart way is to put them in a vase with a little bit of water and let the water evaporate and let them dry like that,” Howat said.
“But I have so many that I hang them to dry.”
To reserve a spot in the class, phone 360-683-9446 or e-mail jshowat@olypen.com.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.