Herbarium in the interior: unfading beauty (21 photos)

Herbarium is a botanical collection of dried flowers and herbs. The Latin name herbarium is translated as "herbalist". The collection may include not only herbal, but also wood samples.

It will be interesting for adults and children to get acquainted with the plant kingdom, to compete in observation, to collect and design a herbarium.

Do-it-yourself collection and design of a herbarium

How to make a herbarium with your own hands? You should study the sequence of actions and observe its accuracy. The herbarization algorithm was developed by Karl Linney in the 18th century. Since then, the rules for collection, drying and storage have not changed.

Preparatory stage

To work, you will need:

• herbar folder;
• parchment or any other absorbent paper;
• scissors for cutting plants, scapula;
• labels;
• herbar press.

How to collect plants for herbarium?

It should be clarified which species of plants in your geographical region have the status of rare and protected. Collecting a herbarium for personal use from protected specimens should not be.

It is better to collect plants in dry weather. For sorting by morphological characteristics, specimens are dug out along with the roots. Samples are chosen healthy and whole. Too thick roots and stems, inconvenient for drying, cut along.

From bushes and trees cut shoots with buds and herbs. If the plant had to be dug up, it is cleaned of soil residues.

How to dry the collected samples?

To dry the plants correctly, they use a special device called a herbar press. It consists of two planks, at the edges of which there are holes for plaits. Prepared samples are placed in large quantities between the planks, which are pulled together with plaits. About 50 sample inserts are placed in one herbar press. The result is a semblance of a thick bandaged book. A loose leaf (it is also called a shirt) in which the plant is laid together with the label is placed in the press, laying sheets of paper on both sides.

Too succulent plants are dried, previously scalded with boiling water. In the afternoon, a herbar press is taken out to dry in the sun. At night - return to the room. The sheets with which the plant liners are laid are recommended to be replaced with dry sheets at least once a day. How to determine that the plant has already dried? Leaves and flowers should be fragile in appearance and not sag in an upright position.

To obtain a herbarium from mosses or lichens, the sample is dried outdoors in a cardboard box.

Herbarium decoration

According to the rules of herbarization, the folder is placed on a horizontal surface, then the plant is laid in it, trying to maintain its natural shape. Excess leaves that interfere with the bookmark can be carefully removed, but the petioles should remain in place of the removed leaves. A certain number of leaves and flowers unfold the bottom side to the observer.

Dried herbarium is made out in a special cardboard folder. On one page you can arrange several plants of various shapes and sizes.

Storage

The herbarium of plants is stored for years, if all conditions are met - for centuries. Dry flowers and plants will last longer in a dry, ventilated area. Cabinets in which folders with samples are stored must be hygroscopic. So that insects are not wound up in the herbarium, it is treated with insecticides.

We attach children

Children will certainly be interested in what you do with herbs and flowers. Herbarium will help the child learn more about the types of plants that he sees while walking.

Kids will be interested in decorating dried flowers with coloring paper. Grass with fine veins and details will do. So that thin ink paper does not wrinkle, it is placed on thick cardboard. The child places the dried-up leaf on the coloring paper, covers with glass and takes out in the sun. After a few minutes, the imprint of the plant will be clearly visible on the blue sheet.

You can offer your baby to make an unusual herbarium: a print of the plant on salt dough or clay for modeling.

Compositions of dried flowers in the interior

A beautiful herbarium on a wall in a frame or a vase is able to completely transform the hearth. Herbarium will fit into any interior. The room in the style of strict minimalism will be decorated with paintings with "prototypes" taken from the botanical collection.

On the walls of the children's room, the child will be delighted with paintings in wooden frames with children's applications. For the kitchen, dry compositions made up of spices or ears are suitable. In the living room you can put the dried gifts of autumn. Delicate bouquets of green ears in decorative vases, romantic and sensual flowers under glass will complement the interior of the bedroom.

Do-it-yourself fixtures are covered with paper with a painted herbarium. Dried flower arrangements in glass bowls and candlesticks are interesting.

Herbarium of leaves

A herbarium of leaves is obtained by drying shoots with leaves in the open air. When the leafy herbarium dries well, it can be covered with glass and framed with a frame. The paper on which the foliar herbarium is glued should be medium in density.

Herbarium of flowers

A herbarium of flowers is dried outdoors. A neatly formed bundle is tied with thread or wire, suspended or placed in a dry low vase. Wheat spikelets and poppy heads form in an upright position.

Flower arrangers know how to make a herbarium of flowers using a set of simple tools. Before starting to draw up a flower arrangement, a novice florist arranger will need:

• light porous base on which the composition will be formed (floristic sponge, wet sand, placed in a plastic bag and tucked into a vessel);
• metal tattoos for fixing dry flowers on the basis of;
• bamboo or straw twigs of various lengths for the stability of the composition;
• brown or green colored paper;
• transparent adhesive tape;
• glue, scissors.

When composing the composition, one should remember about color combinations: dry flowers in one bouquet should not be too contrasting. Paints are better to choose not bright, but muted tones. Accessories such as ribbons, bows and laces should not be distracting. To fasten and decorate the composition of dried flowers need cotton or linen ribbons.

Sometimes dry compositions are placed in openwork bouquets. The shape and size of the vase or bouquets are selected based on the dimensions of the composition. For dry bouquets, decorative vases made of clay and wood are suitable.