I love hydrangeas! I enjoy preserving them so I can enjoy them in inside during the winter. Also, dried hydrangeas are great to use for various crafts. This is an older post and shows you how I spray painted my hydrangeas a few years ago!
Spray paint your hydrangeas now! Before you cut them down and get rid of them with your other yard/garden waste. They will be beautiful and you can use them at Christmas and throughout the winter in your home decor. If you don't have any growing in your yard, and you get whiplash as you drive by beautiful hydrangea shrubs, don't be shy, ask if you can have some! Many of these shrubs get cut down for the winter. And people are happy you are cutting them and taking them with you. Really!!
This is what the hydrangea shrubs look like now (I know some of you aren't gardeners!).
I love dried hydrangea and have some naturally dried ones too. But, here is how I sprayed mine (really, it's super simple!). First I cut down a whole bunch. Take more than you need! Soon they will be in the yard waste pile and it will be too late.
I strip the leaves off, and bring them in the house for a day to dry out. I just think they paint better if the flowers are dryer. They honestly start getting dried out in a day or two.
I spray painted in my garage with the door open. I have an old sheet that I use to cover the floor and away I go. I didn't want the wind to be a factor but wanted lots of ventilation. A little FYI, don't wear your favorite black shoes. You may get some unplanned silver overspray on them :(. And it doesn't come off easily. Also, wear a glove or if you don't have one, stick your hand in a plastic bag before spraying. For some reason, my hands got covered in spray paint. Goo Gone can work wonders getting the paint off your hand!
They actually spray paint very well. And look all silvery and sparkly. Make sure to pick up the flower by the stem and spray the underside of the flower. It helps make sure you get paint coverage on both sides of the flower petals.
I couldn't help myself and I tried Christmas colors. Some pretty red (more burgundy) and a lime green. A little more vivid than the natural hydrangea colors but that was what I was going for.
I didn't spray the red and green ones as thoroughly. I think some of the natural color looking through keeps them looking a little more real.
Here is the spray paint I used for the red and the green.
Honestly, these turned out way better than I expected. I totally LOVE them!
Here is the bunch of silver ones. They look better in real life.
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For now, I have them plopped into some galvanized pails and put on a shelf in my garage.
They are the prettiest things in my garage!
I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do with them but I do have some ideas in the back of my mind. I just wanted to share this with you now so you can still grab some hydrangeas and spray paint them. Have fun! Spray painting can be addictive.
This year, I painted some of my hydrangeas blue! They look gorgeous as an accent in my living room.
Take a peek at My Blue 1920's Living Room to see these pretty blue hydrangeas! I also wrote a post showing how I painted the hydrangeas blue but kept them looking natural.
Bonnie J.
years ago, I spray painted my left over bloom on my bushes and put lights on them for the Christmas holiday ! I got rave reviews and I will have to say they were beautiful! I live in West Virginia so needless to say when the snow came it was even more beautiful
Kristel
Hello I was wondering if they can be spray painted will still on the bush ? I have some dead and dried flowers still on the bush and decorated the bush with blue lights. I would love to paint the flowers silver but don’t want to cause any damage to the bush itself.
Lori
I love this idea and I'm going to do this soon. I have a ton of them dried but they got really dark brown bc I waited too long, but I think a pretty burgundy, or gold might really work nicely.
Ty for showing your steps and idea! Yours are lovely!
Debbie
What kind of spray paint do you recommend
momcrieff
I usually buy Rustoleum spray paint - because it's available where I shop and it's never failed me yet!
Deb Pape
Can these be used in a bridal bouquet or will they fall apart? What is the best way to preserve them?
Julie A Bohanick
Hi, I absolutely love your idea for spraying my hydrangeas. Only problem is I actually love the color of my green and blue ones when alive and when dried. I'd like to keep the color they are but want to spray something on them to preserve them a bit more, not shirt spray more of a matte. Also to make them less fragile . What do you suggest?
Ps. I'm so stealing this idea for around Christmas when I'm ok with spraying them!!! Spring is cominf though and I love the natural colors . I'll look forward to hearing backing from you!
momcrieff
Hi Julie,
Thanks for visiting my site and asking a comment! I have actually sprayed my natural dried hydrangeas with some hairspray (unscented). It really does help the flowers not drop and doesn't change the appearance of the dried flowers if you use a thin coat of the hairspray.
Anonymous
I just put some up to dry and I think I am going to try spray painting some to decorate a Christmas tree with. I think various colors as huge balls sticking out of a big Christmas tree would be beautiful.
Sarah Gasser
I am looking to do this for my wedding for bridesmaid bouquets.. could you give me any advice on this?? How long will they las? When to do it? Etc? Please !! You can email me?? Not sure if I get a notification if you respond??
Melanie
Absolutely love this idea!
susan strohl
Lovely, I am going to do bright white with silver glitter.
Doug Coates
Love your post. We harvested about 500 blooms last year, but didn't paint them until after they'd dried for 4 months. It worked, but it wasn't easy, seeing as how they were all incredible delicate by that point. I was searching for information on painting them fresh or dried, and you provided that information. Thanks for your help
momcrieff
Glad you liked my post! They are a little fragile once they dry, but with a little careful handling, they last for years. You sure harvested a lot of blooms!!
Gina Wamsley
Good morning, Susan! I love this idea so much! I never even thought of doing this, but they look FANTASTIC!! I'm featuring your post today at "Our Favorite Things Pinterest Party"!! I'd love for you to come link up again. 🙂
Blessings,
Gina @ Gina's Craft Corner
[email protected]
I did not know this would work! Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop!
pestep81
Cute idea. I'm getting ready to publish an article about how easy they are to dry. I like using them for Christmas. Never spray painted them better.
Beth
How long do these last? Does the spray paint keep the fresh flowers from decaying?
momcrieff
Hi Beth
The Hydrangeas dry easily. You probably want to strip the leaves and the flower dries fast. I have had some of these for over a year and they still look great!
Val Frania
This is great! I had no idea this would work. I spray painted leaves this fall and will use them in my Thanksgiving and Christmas deco. Here's the post: http://lovemydiyhome.com/diy-metalic-leaves/
Di
Love this idea! Would never have thought of spraying painting them and as we have some in our garden, I will have a go, thanks!
sonjaessen
Awesome idea! Love this!