This specialist Suffolk florist creates “magic flowers” which aren’t dried as such, instead, they have their natural sap replaced with a glycerine mixture and the colour of the petals enhanced with organic dyes, making them last up to a year.

Our favourite from their impressive range is this neutral bunch with touches of yellow and calming green. It arrives in perfect condition, flat packed in a letterbox delivery box and wrapped in brown paper. There’s a huge range of blooms, but it doesn’t feel like kitchen-sink overload. Eucalyptus sits alongside preserved golden solidago, pampas, a dried palm, delicate cream gypsophila, dried yellow achillea and white bunny tails.

It’s up to you how hands on you get with your flower design. Keep them all together for dramatic impact, or get snipping and go for several smaller arrangements with a more pared-back vibe. They also offer custom bouquets, and specialise in preserved roses that anybody would think are fresh.

This chic centrepiece of nudes and natural tones is the perfect option for lovers of pared-back style and Scandi minimalism. Ordering is quick and easy, and they arrive beautifully arranged wrapped in brown paper, just like a fresh bouquet. The striking green of the eucalyptus almost makes you forget that they don’t need any water. The frothy pampas grass gives great height and fullness, while the dried artichoke and thistles add texture and interest. Fan them out in a hand-painted vase and pop them pride of place on the mantlepiece of kitchen table for maximum wow-factor.

For flowers that look good enough to eat, the sugar-sweet ice cream sherbet sundae is the way to go. Arriving in a plain brown rectangular box marked “fragile” – which gives no clue to the dazzling pastel rainbow of dyed stems inside – this is your chance to get creative by trimming and arranging the individual stems. Inside is an ombré palm spear, preserved Ruscus stem and pistachio and peach Phalaris grasses. This is not the biggest bunch, and they’re best suited to smaller sized vases with narrow openings – check out The Petal Patisserie’s Insta for more ice cream-hued inspo.

Shida only sells preserved flowers, and they lead the way when it comes to giving dried serious cool points. The Leon hand-tied is striking and contemporary and really should come with a warning that its star – the Australian banksia hookeraina – is something that you’ll want to reach out and squeeze. Those showstoppers sit alongside soft green, dyed black and neutral blossoms, architectural palm spears and populus rounds. Inspired by Acne Studios and Fendi catwalk palettes, it's a bouquet with serious fashion sass.

The handpicked stems in the Bloomposy arrive beautifully wrapped in pink tissue paper inside a box. As the inventor of letterbox flowers, BloomPost knows what works, and the pink, blush and natural colour palette is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. There’s a great variety of texture and tone, which will make any interior pop with interest. If you’re choosing dried flowers for sustainability points you’ll be glad to hear BloomPost strive for a transparent flower industry, plus they offer options such as the Bloomemory which comes with a wooden stand and vase for even longer-lasting appeal. All that and they keep their prices seriously competitive.

While big name online retailers have plenty going for them, often you’re after the charm of a small independent. BaeGarden, a top seller on Etsy, offers a huge array of dried flower choice, from bountiful bouquets to individual stems. We opted for the Norfolk rustic bouquet, a huge bunch that very much lived up to its potential. With wild grasses, jute, protea, amaranth and extra touch of the bronze wheat, it’s a whopper with a decadent, vintage feel.

Most of the flowers and grasses were collected last summer in the friendly and funny seller’s East Sussex garden. It arrives looking even better than the photos, neatly packaged in wrapping paper inside a box. The few petals that fall off when arranging add to the sense that you’re supporting the little guy (or girl).

You’d expect greatness from one of the UK’s favourite online florists, and this hand-tied beauty does not disappoint. Full of natural, understated earthy tones – including white gypsophila, pink spray roses, delphiniums and oat grass – these “forever blooms” have an English countryside feel.

The generous bouquet means it could easily be split into two arrangements, but we popped ours in one tall transparent jug to show off the pretty stems. As well as hand-tied’s, Bloom and Wild also offer letterbox dried flowers (from £35), or if you really want to wow someone on their doorstep you can opt for a hand-tied bunch with a vase (from £50). You can’t go wrong.

This online Mecca for all things flowers recently added new lines to its dried collection. The bestselling hot pink arrives hand-tied inside a big box, bursting with fluffy pampas grass, pussy willow, cotton, bright fuchsia palm spears, dyed pink wheat and lovely honesty. This is a maximalist head-turner of a bouquet, which comes in three sizes; budget, standard or luxury (£35, £50 and £65 respectively).

Despite careful packaging, a couple of stems were slightly damaged upon arrival, but there is such an abundance it didn’t matter. We split ours into two arrangements, one a pick-me-up pop of colour, the other just full of untouched blooms. Both elevate their environments to new levels of luxe.

Giving a masterclass in a modern take on trad dried flowers, Mud’s mint imperial bouquet is their bestseller, and it’s not hard to see why. This peachy Instagram dream arrives overflowing with eucalyptus, white hydrangea, and neutral blooms, all wrapped in brown kraft paper and tied with a satin ribbon. At an impressive 40cm tall and 25cm wide, it is also available as a half size, priced at £26.