Whether selectedfrom your own garden or purchased from a florist, there’s something undeniably beautiful about fresh cut flowers. Always the most perfect blooms, they bring color and a wonderful scent into our lives for a short time.

It’s that last partthe very short period of time they lastthat bothers me, though. It seems such a shame to spend all this time and energy growing flowers, just for a few days as a table arrangementor a bridal bouquet.

But maybe cut flowers don’t have to meet their fate so soon. Here are just a few ways that your special occasion flowers can be recycled, upcycled and repurposed to that their joy and beauty stick around as long as possible!

1. Donate Them

This is the simplest way to extend the life of your cut flowers, especiallyafter a wedding or similar large event where you have more arrangements/bouquets than you can give away to friends or family. Retirements homes, homeless shelters, nursing homes and even some independent restaurants are always happy to receive donations of fresh flowers to improve the appearance of their facilities. In fact, if you work out an arrangement with them beforehand, they may even come and pick them up!

2. Dry Them

If you’re looking to recyclea bouquet that had special meaning, you might not want to give them away, and that’s fine too. Drying flowers is a great way to enjoy their benefits long after the freshness has worn away. Properly dried flowers can be used to make your ownaromatherapy formulas, popurri blends and even edible embellishments! Check out this Care2 post on How To Dry Flowers And Botanicals to learn more.

3. Press Them

Pressing is a very particular style of drying flowers that allows them to be displayed or incorporated into handmade crafts. All it takes is a few blossoms that are still fairly fresh and a stack of heavy books! Check out this Care2 post on How To Make Beautiful Botanical Art With Pressed Flowers for an easy tutorial.

4. Preserve Them

Professionally arranged wedding bouquets aren’t cheap, so it’s always disheartening to think about tossing them in the trash a few days after the wedding. If you’re looking for a way to enjoy your bouquet indefinitely, you should know there are options, but they too will cost you a little bit.

“If you aim to have your bouquet preserved in its original shape,I suggest either silica-gel drying or freeze-drying, which are done by professional preservationists and will help keep the natural, three-dimensional shape of the flowers. The difference between the two methods is just technical: Silica-gel drying involves burying the flowers in a granular substance until theyre totally dry, while freeze-drying entails slowly dehydrating the blooms in a cold,vacuum-sealed machine. The bouquet is then sealed inside a glass container like a shadow box or a glass dome,” expert floristEric Buterbaughtold Martha Stewart Weddings.

5. Transform Them

If none of those options appeal to you, consider transforming your special bouquet or flower arrangement into something else altogether. There are several companies who specialize in turning flowers into beautiful beads that then become earrings, necklaces, bracelets that can be worn forever. Check out Blossoms Into Beads and My Flowers Forever Jewelry to learn more about this amazing upcycling process.

What’s your favorite way to make fresh cut flowers last a little bit longer? Share it in the comments!

Image Credit: Thinkstock

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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5 Simple Ways To Recycle Your Fresh Cut Flowers