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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Spring Pressed Leaves

Normally I start thinking about pressing leaves in the Fall, when all those pretty leaves are hard to ignore. Though recently I realized that Spring leaves are equally lovely. And they have the added bonus of being tinier than fall leaves, just mini versions of their more mature selves, which makes them perfect for using in projects when regular leaves are just too big.

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Sometimes, before the chlorophyll has made it all the way up, they're even a bit red.

For some of you this will be way too late. For some, it will be perfect timing. But don't wait too long to cut yourself a branch. In the time between when I first pressed these (4 days ago) and today, the leaves on our maple are at least 50 percent larger and completely green.

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My favorite way to press flowers and leaves is in books. I've been pressing bits of nature between the pages of Little Women since I was a kid. Strangely, I've never read the entire thing. Though anytime I open it there is usually one or two folded pieces of white paper, sandwiching something or other, little presents from my past self, sent forward into the future.

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Those are maidenhair ferns, a plant I have never been able to keep alive for long in our dry climate, but I do love to press them flat. Today I plan to put these to good use.

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I'll be back tomorrow with pictures.
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4 comments:

  1. DebiMay 10, 2011 at 7:12 AM

    I never thought about pressing leaves in the spring either!

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  2. Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O)May 10, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    What a great idea though !~! My copper beech just put out the cutest young leaves which are already their rich orange-ish hue and ripe for the plucking. Thanks for the reminder to look all around us every day.

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  3. Fun Mama - DeannaMay 11, 2011 at 2:00 PM

    I feel the sudden, pressing need to sit you down and read Little Women to you! I'll try to refrain. lol

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  4. WendyMay 13, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    Deanna, I know I'll catch a lot of grief from this, but I tried to read it several times when I was younger and just don't like the characters very much. I felt the same way about Little House on the Prairie. (And it's not that I don't like to read. I do- and did- read voraciously. I just never could get into those books. They always seemed too preachy to me.)

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