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Here we will try to answer as many of your questions about Wilde
Flowers and how we work as we can. If you do not find the answer you are
looking for, please feel free to contact us
to get the answer you are looking for.
Why Should I Preserve My
Flowers?
Can You
Preserve My Bouquet Exactly As It Is?
How Long Will It Take?
Do I Have To Frame My
Flowers?
How Much Does It Cost?
What Flowers Can You
Preserve?
How Do You Preserve My
Flowers?
What Can I Include
In My Framed Picture?
How Do I Care For My Flowers?
Where Are You Located?
Why
Should I Preserve My Flowers?
The flowers that beautify the events of our lives can also hold them in
memory. Preserving your flowers with Wilde Flowers not only provides you
with a keepsake of your special moment but also with a beautiful, custom
work of art by a professional artist.
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Can
You Preserve My Bouquet Exactly As It Is?
Unfortunately we cannot preserve your bouquet exactly as it is nor can
we re-create it in exactly the same way. To successfully dry your flowers
they must be isolated from the other flowers to a certain degree so that
we can best preserve their shape. As well, many -- if not most bouquets --
are not tied, fresh cut flowers but are arrangements held together by a
floral sponge which keeps the flowers hydrated. The flowers cannot be
dried while their stems are embedded within this wet sponge. Finally,
because your flowers are now dry and brittle it becomes extremely
difficult to recreate bouquets that are constructed with flexible flowers.
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How Long Will It
Take?
The drying process takes 3 weeks (see: "How Do You Preserve My Flowers?").
Once the flowers have been dried we invite you to return for a
consultation about how you would like your flowers arranged. A
consultation takes approximately 1/2 hour. During the consultation we will
help you choose from a variety of frame and arrangement styles. Once you have made your choice, the final
process of new-creation can take anywhere from one to two months,
depending on the season. As we do careful, hand crafted artwork it does
take some time to complete each item.
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Do I Have To
Frame My Flowers?
No. Once your flowers are dried you are under no obligation to have
them arranged by Wilde Flowers.
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How Much Does It
Cost?
The cost of preserving flowers at Wilde Flowers depends a great deal on
what you bring to us. Generally, we charge $4.00 per flower or
$50.00 per bouquet. If you choose to have an arrangement made
the price varies according to what you choose. The most common form of
arrangement is a framed, wall hanging picture. These run in price from
$85.00 for a 5"x7" to $480.00 for a
16"x20" gold leaf frame. The most common and popular frames and
sizes cost on average $265.00. All of these prices include
frame, artwork, assembly and glass but exclude drying. For more
information, please visit our prices page.
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What Flowers
Can you Preserve?
When planning a wedding or other special event choose the flowers that
you like and want rather than what may or may not preserve well. It is our
job at Wilde Flowers to save what can be saved from your selection. There
are very few flowers, such as chrysanthemums, that pose any real
difficulty preserving. Regardless of what you or we are able to preserve,
however, it is the moment, the event which the flowers
represent which makes them special. So choose the flowers that make you
happy and let Wilde Flowers re-create them as a memento of memorable
occasions.
Should you still have any concerns about a specific type of flower, please
feel free to contact us.
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How Do You
Preserve My Flowers?
We use a substance called "Silica
Gel" to dry your flowers. We have found that silica gel
provides better results than air or freeze drying: air dried flowers
shrivel while freeze dried flowers become far too brittle.
Silica gel is much like white sand in appearance. To dry a flower using
silica gel involves carefully burying each individual flower in this
"sand." The weight of the gel against the flower ensures that
the flower retains it's shape while the gel absorbs the moisture from the
flower.
While some flowers dry quite rapidly, most take 2 to 3 weeks buried in the
silica gel to dry. For this reason, we leave all of our flowers in the gel
for the maximum length of time necessary to ensure that each flower has
dried fully and properly. There are no safe shortcuts.
Once your flowers have been dried they are removed from the silica gel.
Your flowers will have retained their shape but some colours will have
changed slightly. For instance, white becomes cream and red roses deepen
in colour, becoming a darker red. Most yellows, oranges, pinks and purples
do retain a close resemblance to their original colour.
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What
Can I Include In My Framed Picture?
Along with your flowers you can also include any number of keepsakes.
Popular items include photos, invitations, poems, ribbon and
jewelry.
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Where Are You
Located?
We are located in Canada's Capital Region of Ottawa Carleton.
Our address is:
226 McClellan Rd.
Nepean, Ontario
K2H 7W9
For more details such as maps, directions and phone
numbers can be found on our contact page.
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