Make a seed drying mobile
Drying seeds on a mobile is a great way to preserve wildflower seeds or seeds from your garden flowers and create a beautiful mobile decoration at the same time! You can then sow them in new places next year. You can also dry herbs on the mobile and hang fresh flowers too.
What you will need:
Wooden hoop - you can buy these in craft shops
Embroidery thread
Colourful ribbons
Scissors or snippers
Seed heads, fresh flowers and herbs
A basket or bag to collect your flowers and seedheads in (our tote foraging bag is perfect for this!)
What you need to do:
Take your scissors and bag and go for a walk to find some wildflowers. Remember to only take one or two from each bunch you find and to only pick flowers that are already growing in groups, rather than on their own. If you have flowers in your garden, you could also pick these. You could also pick some herbs to dry if you have any.
If you want to use the flower's seeds next year, look for flowers that have already lost their petals and only have their seed pods. A seed pod is a container that flowers use to store their seeds. It can usually be found inside or behind the flower itself. Once the flower petals wither, the pod is left behind. As you find your flowers, see if you know what their names are. This will help you work out where you can plant their seeds.
To add some colour to your mobile, you might want to include some stems with flowers that still have their petals, or colourful grasses or grains.
When you get home, cut everything to a length that you think will look nice on your mobile.
Cut four lengths of your embroidery thread, about 30-40 cm long, and tie them at an equal distance from each other round your wooden hoop.
Gather the four strands at the top and tie them together, so you can hang your hoop from the ceiling.
Take your four ribbons and tie each one to your hoop, so they are hanging down.
Take one of your flowers or seed pods and tie a piece of embroidery thread to the stem. Tie the stem to your hoop, so it is also hanging down. Keep going until your hoop is full with seed pods, flowers and herbs.
Hang your mobile up somewhere where the air moves and will circulate around them - such as near an open window. Enjoy your beautiful mobile!
Next spring, shake out the seeds from your seed pods and plant them outside! Remember to put them in the type of surroundings they will like. Scatter them, sprinkle a very thin layer of soil over the top, add a bit of water, and watch them grow.
Photography: Denise Hope, home educating mum of two boys
This seed drying mobile activity was part of a previous Mud & Bloom box. If you’d like to receive regular nature craft activities like this alongside gardening activities for children, subscribe below to receive a monthly Mud & Bloom box!