Gathering the Everlasting
This week, among the gentle shuffle of petals and shears, Heligan gardener Yoko was spotted bending thoughtfully over rows of strawflowers, delicately snipping stems in the soft June light. These aren’t just any blooms - these are Helipterum roseum, or as they're more affectionately known, the “everlastings.”
As part of the Seed Journey cycle, this moment captures the transition from the living garden to the lasting memory - where colour, form, and texture are preserved not in photographs, but in air and time. With careful hands and a practiced eye, Yoko is harvesting blooms at their peak, destined to be dried for winter arrangements, displays, and perhaps even next season’s Seed Journey storytelling.
The Magic of the Strawflower
Helipterum has earned its nickname for good reason. Once dried, the flowers retain their vibrant colours and papery texture for months - even years. The secret lies in their unusual structure: what looks like petals are actually bracts, or modified leaves, which never wilt in the way true petals do. This makes them ideal for crafting, wreaths, garlands, or simply displayed in vases as a touch of the garden that never fades.
In the Victorian language of flowers, strawflowers symbolised “a memory that never dies.” It's easy to see why. Their cheerful daisy-like form and rainbow of shades from sun-warmed orange and gold to candy pinks and snowy whites - are a celebration of resilience and remembrance.
The Drying Process
Drying Helipterum is a simple, age-old technique, but timing is everything. Yoko cuts the stems before the flowers fully open, when the bracts are just beginning to unfurl. Too late, and they’ll shatter in drying; too early, and they’ll never fully display their shape.
Bundled and hung upside down in a dry, dark, well-ventilated space, the flowers slowly lose their moisture but retain their charm. It’s this traditional method that allows the Seed Journey story to extend beyond the season - offering gardeners and visitors alike a piece of the summer garden to carry forward.
Growing Your Own Everlastings
If you’ve picked up a pack of Helipterum seeds from the Heligan shop, you’re holding a piece of this story. These easy-to-grow annuals thrive in full sun, and prefer well-drained soil. Keep deadheading to prolong blooming, and you’ll have plenty to cut for drying or fresh arrangements.
Whether you grow them for their vibrant colour, their old-fashioned charm, or the joy of preserving summer in its most tactile form, Helipterum is one of the quiet stars of the Flower Garden garden - rooted in the now, and remembered for later.