Preserving Fall leaves in the Sierra Foothill Garden
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a
flower.”
– Albert Camus
Ever find a beautiful Autumn leaf and think, “’This one I want to keep’? Here’s how you can…
Save a leaf!
Choosing the right leaves
Pick fresh leaves with the brightest colors. Most leaves, when they fall, lose their water supplies within a day or two, making them brittle and hard to save, so if you take one off the ground, make sure it’s still pliable. You don’t want fallen leaves that have already started to dry.
Press in a heavy book, but between paper towels,…don’t forget them!
Pressing Leaves with Weight
Pressing leaves with weight is the simplest method of saving fall leaves. The trick to keeping the colors sharp is to remove the moisture as quickly as possible. Sandwich leaves between two paper towels.
Then select some of your heaviest books (or the stacks of garden magazines I know you have), at least five pounds of pressure, and layer the leaves between the pages. Ideally, you should use a large book and keep them about fifty or so pages apart. Putting them closer together won’t flatten them as desired. It should take five or six days.…