Fragrances Of Memories: Making flowers last long

A flower is a sign of beauty – a symbol of grace. How we love to bask in its serenity and take in the happy feelings it brings for us. But all seem to wilt and wither away at a fast clip.

If only they stay with us, in their bloom and beauty. With each flower we share our emotions and these last hardly a few hours or days, as they wither and dry. Mahalakshmi V Reddy, a city-based entrepreneur and flower preservation scientist, is working to keep our memories fresh by making them last for a very long time.

A former scientist with the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, she uses the concept of lyophilisation – a freeze drying process – to preserve the natural look and feel of any flower by dehydrating the moisture.

Through the process, now patented by her, the flowers are revived, pre-treated and then sent into the lyophiliser, a machine that dehydrates flowers without tampering with their natural look.

"My research started with the notion of emotional touch attached with the flowers. I attended the Media Today International floriculture show. I was surprised to see the quality of flowers was fresh which made me wonder why each flower was expensive. I began to learn about the technology and explored how to preserve flowers. I indulged in the process and researched in detail," she informs.

After researching on the subject for almost 20 years while working at the university and College of Community Science, Mahalakshmi finally developed a method, and post her retirement in 2016, started building the machine in her own house along with a small lab in the basement an automated technology, a modified version of other machines she had made during her experimental phase. "In five to six months, we were able to start Lyo Florals," said Mahalakshmi.

Lyo Florals creates memorabilia by preserving flowers. The flowers are treated and processed to retain the inherent qualities in them – form, color, texture, sheen and shine using advanced preservation science and artistic techniques.

It protects the essential characteristics and safeguards flowers from damage-inducing elements like heat, humidity, dust etc. It turns these preserved flowers into a personalized memory by mounting them in a variety of attractive cases and frames.

Depending on the state of the flower given to her, Mahalakshmi determines the process and time it will take to preserve the flower. While she prefers that customers send the flower within a day of usage, if the flower has gone through some weathering, she will then surely try her best to revive and pre-treat them before sending them to the lyophiliser.

"The flowers are frozen for 12 days and also based on the type of the flower. If it is a big flower or a thick flower it will take at least five days to preserve it. However, if the density of the flower is big, the process could go up to 12 or 13 days. The period of preservation depends on the type of flower.

Other than getting flowers from customers, we also go and get some fresh flowers from nurseries to preserve them," adding, the preserved flowers are mounted in unique and beautiful 2D and 3D display cases made out of glass, acrylic or wood to enjoy the joyful emotions for years. It meets customers' different needs.

She says continues to learn different styles of floral freeze drying. "It is my passion to preserve flowers and there are several instances where people would do anything to preserve the memories, I see it as a fragrance of memories," she signs off.