Carietta, they're favorites of mine. I've some that must be 5 years old and still in fine shape. Never sprayed with anything.

Did you ever try picking a few still in the green stage, then as they turn pinkish? They dry well and keep their color.

I agree they would make a nice gift...josh

Thanks, Josh, I'll try that. I have a few that are still green. Do they blend well with the brownish color of the dried ones?

Oh gosh, I like to play around...mix them with the reddish-green seedpods of Love-in-a-Mist, or with the creamy Bells of Ireland, or with a dangling branch of reddish-green Eucalyptus seedpods. (Or maybe put it all in one big pot). Whatever looks good to me when I'm wandering around with a handful!

I've been a magpie for years...lol..and have miles of bookshelves with tiny to large arrangements and hardly a flat spot that doesn't
have live or dried things on it...lol. I honestly do pack some things away for awhile, although noone believes me!

My husband came home from Dentist office with a branch of green crabapples just turning red a little....now there's another idea for the rosy-green grass to mingle with. And my grandkids know I'd rather have a strange branch with green/grey lichen than anything they could buy.

So just play around...that's half the fun to me. You might even enthuse your sister into bringing you bits from the hairsalon's parking area! lol josh