For Diane Gaither of Prospect, color has moved out of the garden and into the kitchen.

“I have to share my kitchen,” laughed Gaither recently, referring to dried milky white artemesia spilling over the sides of a cardboard box and jars of dried blossoms crowding the counters.

An electric dehydrating machine takes up its position nearby, containing a variety of other treats.

The floor has become home to stacks of containers, each stocked with delicate blossoms preserved to bring some winter joy.

As Gaither opens one such container, creamy pink and white peonies are revealed, and Gaither speculates the rotund blooms will eventually adorn a wreath.

Gaither, who is teaching a class on drying flowers at the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Slippery Rock University, will extend the gardening season well into winter as she uses the plant treasures to make dried arrangements and items like potpourri and soap.

“I think I have the most fun job,” she said, explaining she performs much of the “dead heading” in the garden that her husband, Thomas, otherwise plants.

A biology professor at Slippery Rock University, Thomas Gaither spends much of his summer caring for the 75 or 80 organically grown dahlias and other flowers and vegetables that occupy the couple’s yard.

“I enjoy the harvest of seeing the blossoms, and I also enjoy the sharing of them with people,” Thomas Gaither said.

“I am just delighted that Diane dries flowers. Some people that she dries for — makes potpourri for — they consider the gifts to be very, very special because they came from her garden — our garden,” he said.

While Gaither’s focus is often wild and domestic flowers for arrangements, potpourri and soap, other enthusiasts turn toward different projects.

As a member of the Herbal Thymes garden club, Jill Ruzich of Adams Township has spent a number of years experimenting with dried herbs.As well as using herbs for culinary purposes, Ruzich uses the aromatic plants for a variety of gifts and scented products."For a long time I made tussie-mussies: small Victorian bouquets that a lot of people use in weddings," she said."I made those up for friends that had babies: Say they had Italian in (their heritage), I would put oregano in them," she said, explaining that oregano is said to symbolize strength.Parsley, she added, implies the woman will rule the house, so dried parsley might be incorporated into a tussie-mussie or other token for a bride.Ruzich said dried lavenders, sages and mints also can be used in muslin bags or tea balls to scent bath water. "They're very reviving," she said.

"One thing I always do with lavender: I always picked it and dried it. The ones that didn't look very good, that had imperfections, I would put in an old pillowcase and I'd put the pillowcase under my mattress pad on my bed. When I got in and out of my bed, it smelled good - and lavender helps you sleep well," she said.Gaither said she also capitalizes on scent by boiling and steeping a mixture of rose petals and lavender to be sprayed onto linens or clothing when ironing. The smell of lavender can also deter moths, she added.Just as easily as culinary plants can be used outside the kitchen, Ruzich said decorative plants can also be used for culinary purposes.Scented geraniums, for instance, can be layered on the bottom of a floured cake pan so that cakes will emerge with a hint of flavor from the petals."You can steep the leaves, then use the liquid to make frosting," she added. "It gives a mild taste to the icing as well."Ruzich also said dried herbs can be measured and frozen in ice trays so the cubes can be tossed into various dishes while cooking throughout the year.Jeffrey Double, merchandise manager at Butler Florist, sometimes dries the herbs in combined bunches according to their end use. The various herbs to be combined in a stew, for instance, would be dried together in a bunch to avoid the need to measure the herbs individually while cooking.Since herbs can be beautiful as well as functional, Double suggests capitalizing on both traits. Making wreathes recently out of the fragrant herb Sweet Annie, Double said he was able to utilize both characteristics in the end product."I gathered them, bunched them and dried them. Once completely dried, I lashed them to a straw wreathe to use throughout the fall season in a family room. It was pretty - plus the aroma," he said.Scents of the dried plants are activated by moisture and by touch, Double said, so keeping dried herbs in a steamy kitchen and touching them occasionally will bring out their fragrance."The average dried herb or dried flower has less than a year shelf life. Basically, you should replace them at the end of each year with a new harvest."This is due in part to loss of fragrance, which can be extended by adding essential oils, but also because of dust and decay, he said. "It is a natural material and they will break down."

Just as Indian corn and rich earth-toned gourds can mark summer's change to fall, winter holidays can also be adorned with blossoms.Both Gaither and Ruzich mentioned wintry items for potpourri like orange peel and star anise. Ruzich also described using dried blossoms as ornaments for the Christmas tree."I would decorate the Christmas tree with hydrangeas that I dried. The blues are harder to retain, but they retain that pink color very nicely. They also look nice if you spray just a tinge of gold on them," she said. Ruzich also said the dried blossoms can be used on wreaths or mounted on wire cages in the shape of a Christmas tree to be used as a table top decoration.Even more important than seasonal bouquets are special arrangements for weddings, funerals and other significant occasions.Sentimental value and the threat of deterioration often prompt people to have their flowers preserved professionally.According to Janelle Lott, owner of A Moment in Time Floral Preservation in Boyers, this process involves a special machine that freeze-dries the blooms, turning the ice into a gas that evaporates."I do anything from wedding bouquets to corsages. I also do funeral work. I had a lady retire, and I freeze-dried some of her flowers."According to Lott, flowers are placed in a special machine in which the temperature drops below freezing.A type of vacuum is then used to help turn the moisture to a vapor, which is slowly extracted before the temperature is increased over a period of days. When finished, the flowers are coated with a thin sealant.

Lott said the process helps to prevent shrinkage and loss of color. But to prevent eventual decay, most people also preserve the final product in framed arrangements under glass or other kinds of airtight enclosures.Lott said the success of the mechanical process relies partly on the freshness of the flowers when she receives them. Working with the freshest flowers yields the best results, and flowers should never be frozen before she receives them, she warned.Flowers like roses, lilies and smaller blossoms like status and babies breath fare well during the freeze-drying process, but Lott said some other plants do not."Daisies, mums and a lot of greenery don't do well," she said.Since the drying and framing process can take several months and costs can be prohibitive, Lott says drying jobs usually involve occasions like weddings. Costs for a typical wedding bouquet can range up to $100 for preservation and from $100 to $175 for framing.Corsages and boutonnieres can be done more inexpensively and preserved in small, Victorian-style globes, she added."I don't air dry, because dust and humidity and insects are going to be what destroys the flowers - so they only last a few years if left outside of containers. I seal them and put a special (coating) that kills any bugs that might have gotten in there. People have had them for decades. They do tend to take on an antique look when they dry," she said.Although the gardening season is beginning to wane, the Gaithers say a few plants are still available for harvest. Hardy domestic flowers like mums, marigolds, globe amaranth and straw flowers remain in many gardens, and wild, roadside species like goldenrod and yarrow can also work well in arrangements.Leaves, often dipped in a glycerin mixture, can be gathered now for holiday wreaths, while grasses and nuts add texture and variety.Teasel, a burr-like roadside plant, is also readily available."If people would go alongside the road or just look on the fringes where they can't cut the grass all the way," they will find plants suitable for drying, Thomas Gaither said.