Daisy Flowers

Botanical name: Bellis Perennis
Common Names: English Daisy, Lawn Daisy, Bruisewort, Maya, Meadow Daisy
Cultivation: Full sun in average soil
Colors: Pink, White
Bloom Time: Late Sring to Early Summer
Uses: Dried arrangements and medicinal uses
Regions: Western Asia, Britain, Europe, Iraq, Chile, Spain

Daisy Flowers are members of the Asteracea family . The apparent 'flower' of a daisy is a condensed inflorescence composed of a large number of small stalkless flowers arranged on an expanded stem called a 'receptacle'. The inflorescence is known as a 'capitulum' or 'head', and each individual flower is called a 'floret'.

Cultivation of Daisy Flowers
Daisy Flowers grow well in most well drained soils in sun or semi shade. The daisy is commonly found growing in many lawns, some varieties have been developed for the flower garden. It is a good plant for the spring meadow. The plants have a very long flowering season. They will even produce a few flowers in the mild winters.

Daisy Flowers are well cultivated in containers with the right type soil. The suitable soil mix is 3 parts friable soil, 4 parts organic material and 5 parts course washed sand. They are good for floral art and so a wide number of daisies are dried for the same.

Drying of Daisy Flowers
The daisies that can be dried are paper daisies. They have stiff, papery, colourful bracts surrounding the flower heads. These bracts retain their shape and colour when dried.

Daisy Flowers are dried by burying them in a plant-drying mixture. The drying agent in the mixture helps support the flower while removing moisture, preserving the flower's shape and form. The most common mixtures used are borax mixtures and silica gel.

Hook wiring is used for daisies. To hook wire a flower a prime gauge wire is used and is pushed upward through the center of the stem, if hollow. Push it out of the top of the flower, bend a small hook in the end of the wire and pull it back into the flower, hooking the center. Make sure that the small hook is well hidden in the flower's center.

Place the drying material on the bottom of a container. Bend the wire stems to the side or curl up. Place the flower on the layer of material. Push wire stem down into material. Cover the flowers completely with the material. Lift the container and tap the base gently. Leave it for drying for 2 to 3 weeks depending on the drying material used.

Uses of Daisy Flowers
Dried daisies are wonderful for beautiful and exclusive wreath making. Dried flowerheads are used as anodyne, demulcent, digestive, emollient, expectorant, laxative, ophthalmic, purgative and tonic. Daisy Flowers are used for magical purposes. Decorate the house with dried daisies at Mid Summer's Eve to bring happiness to the home and to obtain the blessings of faeries. They are also worn for luck and blessings.