We dry our own Gypsophila
Dried Gypsophila is a staple of floristry, particularly weddings. Also known as Gypsophilia, Baby’s Breath or simply Gyp, the delicate flowers are tiny enough to be used on any scale. Uses might include anything from a small sprig in a buttonhole, to a bouquet filler, to a massed display in a wreath or flower crown.
Buy white GypFresh Gyp is available year-round, with the price depending broadly on how many air miles are involved in bringing it into the country. Some people prefer fresh Gypsophila, depending on their project. There might be various reasons for this, such as flexibility of stems if they need to be twined into a display, or if a completely crisp fresh white flower is needed (the flowers often dry to softer shades of ivory and cream).
Reasons to use Dried Gyp
We believe that there are multiple reasons for choosing dry Gyp over fresh. Here are just a few:
- Fixed price – Rather than being at the whim of international flower pricing which can vary on a daily basis, dried Baby’s Breath tends to be the same price year-round.
- Buy British – If you buy natural Gyp from Daisyshop.co.uk, it will have been sourced from UK growers during its natural growing season June to September and expertly dried by hanging up in a warm room.
- Travel – If you’re planning a wedding abroad, it’s not unusual for brides to take a bouquet or wedding flowers with them, carefully packed in a suitcase! (Check local rules as some countries are more concerned about plant matter than others).
- Forward planning – If you’re planning an event ahead of time and organising your own flowers, using dried rather than fresh is a great way to be able to tick items off a list!
- Longevity – Your display will last for days, weeks or months with no intervention required.
- Souvenir – Dried flowers make a lovely keepsake.
Where to buy dry Baby’s Breath
At Daisyshop.co.uk we do realise that there are numerous suppliers out there – some of them may even be cheaper! But we have tried dried Gyp from various sources and are convinced that ours is the best! This is because we buy primarily UK grown flowers during their natural growing season, meaning they are not weakened by being forced into flower early, or stressed to limpness by long-distance journeys. By buying during this time we are also able to keep the price down. Four factors we believe make our Gypsophila better than most:
- We use bunches that are in tip-top condition. It does seem to be becoming common practise for some fresh florists to preserve their unsold flowers to sell on as dried. That’s not how it works unfortunately because unsold implies past-its-best. This just results in poor colour and droppy flowers.
- We use variable drying times depending on the conditions. We monitor the flowers daily because overcooked flowers can lose their colour and become droppy. Our bunches have a good green stem, and flowers tending in colour towards ivory rather than parchment.
- Choice of variety. All Gyp is not the same! We’ve found over the years that as the flowers tend to shrink on drying, the larger flowered varieties look much better dry.
- We have Twenty years experience!
You can read more about how to dry Gypsophila on Ruth’s blog at driedflowercraft.co.uk
Colours of Gypsophila available
Apart from the ubiquitous natural white Gyp, did you also know it comes in natural pink too? This shade is beautiful soft lavender pink. We supply both pink and white, both sourced from UK growers to keep down those air miles!
Buy pink GypDyed Gyp can come in almost any colour, but recent shades we’ve experimented with have included yellow, lavender purple, aqua blue, mint green and a bicolour in pink and blue. These great colours aren’t often available from UK growers unfortunately, and the dying process adds a cost, but we think dyed can certainly add zing to a bouquet!
Buy dyed Gyp
Pressed Gyp
We also press flowers in our Sussex workshop. All the different types listed above press well and we generally press a few sprigs every time we hang up a batch of bunches.
Buy pressed GypAgain we have many years of experience in pressing flowers. It all came about when two of our pressed flower suppliers retired. Our UK pressed flowers have graced many a TV screen on shows such as Mr Selfridge and the Netflix film Enola Holmes. Read more about our pressed flowers from Sussex
