Keeping Color Alive | How to Preserve Autumn Leaves

How to Preserve Autumn Leaves

Start by selecting the best specimens. Pick a sunny day and collect only dry leaves. Avoid leaves with any damage, because these imperfections will be accentuated when the leaves are dry. Try to find at least four or five leaves from each species so that you’ll have a good representation.

Within a half hour of collecting, place each leaf between two layers of paper towel or blotting paper … If you wait much longer, the leaves begin to dry out and lose color. The trick to keeping the colors sharp is to remove the moisture as quickly as possible.

Gently put the leaf (with its paper) between the pages of a large book … Keep at least 10 pages between leaves, and don’t put in too many; use a second book if you have a lot of leaves.

Stack at least five more books (at least five pounds of pressure) on top, and let them sit for 10 days or more. Keep the books in a dry room (no humidifiers). For best results, change the blotting paper after the first few days of pressing.

—“Secrets of Preserving Leaves,” by Polly Bannister, September 1999