AROUND HOME : Everlasting Design: Ideas and Techniques for Dried Flowers

BY DIANA PENZNER WITH MARY FORSELL

(Houghton Mifflin Co.; 1988)

LIKE SKIRT LENGTHS, dried flowers seem to go in and out of fashion. Right now, along with things Victorian and romantic, they’re enjoying a resurgence in popularity. This small, informative how-to book tells how to set up a home workshop for drying flowers and making wreaths, potpourri and pressed flowers. In addition to instruction on the various drying methods, it also gives ideas for arrangements and an illustrated catalogue of dried-flower candidates. For the uninitiated, this presentation of flowers and leaves not often seen in dried arrangements is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book; it looks beyond the usual grasses and pods to such exotics as anthuriums and heliconias, and such favorites as delphiniums, button chrysanthemums and ranunculuses. ($9.95)