Combine a dark, dry room with a handful of household items and many garden blooms can retain their beauty well into winter.

When dried properly, many flowers and herbs can be used for cooking or for pressing, decorative arrangements, potpourri and other projects.

By following these rules of thumb on drying, gardeners can achieve an end product that retains its color and shape:

Harvest plants at the peak of their perfection, after the morning dew has evaporated but before they become warm from the afternoon sun. Tightly closed buds should be avoided, since they are likely to avoid moisture.

Choose a dark, well-ventilated room for drying. Flowers will retain more of their color if they dry in a dark room. Ventilation is important because a plant's color retention also depends on how quickly it dries. Moisture, likely to occur in a garage with concrete floors or block walls, will also result in mold or mildew on the dried product - even if the mold is not immediately visible.

Plants, especially herbs, can be dried by hanging upside down in bunches. Using rubber bands to secure the bunches works well, since the bands will constrict around the stems as they begin to dry and shrink. Drying upside down will also ensure the herb's essential oils will accumulate in the buds.

Some flowers with flat-shaped heads, like daisies, can also be dried while hanging upright by placing the stems through wire mesh suspended from the ceiling. Hanging the flowers this way will help the heads retain their flat shape.

Although drying time varies from plant to plant, several weeks may be required for a flower to dry completely. Stems that snap when bent indicate a plant is dry.

Since some types of flowers dry more slowly than others, hobbyists sometimes enlist the aid of a desiccant, or drying agent, to absorb moisture and accelerate the process. Desiccants can include borax, sand, cat litter or silica gel, which is available in craft stores. Hobbyists usually refer to how-to books or rely on trial and error to determine when to use a desiccant and the time required for drying.

In cases where a flower's shape would be hindered by lying sideways, the blossom is removed from its stem and placed face down in desiccant material that lines the bottom of a shoebox or other container, with more of the desiccant sprinkled over the flowers once they are placed in the box. The box should then be covered with a lid until the flowers are dry.

Flowers can then be attached to floral wire to simulate stems, or used without stems in wreaths and other mounted arrangements.

Ovens can also be used to dry some plants and flowers. When using an oven, flowers can be spaced on a baking sheet. A medium setting should be used and the door left open. Approximate time is 20 minutes at about 140 degrees. Flowers dried too quickly will shrivel.

Plants can also be dried on dry paper towels in a microwave, but times and settings vary according to plants and equipment.