Potpourri

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~Yesterday's lovely flower is but a dream today~
~Japanese Proverb~

Pot-pourri is a mixture of dried petals, leaves, twigs and spices used to perfume a room. Making your own pot-pourris is easy and enjoyable. You can experiment with different flower combinations and oils.......
There are two different ways for making potpourri....the dry method and the moist method.

Collect flowers, leaves and branches of the plants early in the morning after the dew has dried off of the plants. If it has rained, wait until two days after the rain before harvesting material. Different types of flowers and leaves can be used. Commonly used flowers are rose petals, lavender, lemon verbena, rose geranium and tuberrose.

Dry the material on a piece of screen wire.

Turn the material every couple of days until very dry. Keep out of sunlight as it will fade the flowers.

You can collect the materials needed in small quantities, which can be stored in airtight containers until needed.

When enough materials have been collected and dried, it time to start your potpourri.

Dry Method

Start by mixing flowers, leaves and twigs.

For every quart of flowers and leaves, add one tablespoon of fixative material.

Add a couple drops or more of fragrance oil. Use an oil with a fragrance in keeping with the type of flower used.

Store in an airtight container for about a week, to allow the various fragrances to meld together.

Shaking the material around a couple of times during the wait will improve the results.

When finished it can be stored in glass containers, baskets, anything.....it can also be made into sachets.

Moist Method

Flower petals are partly dried by laying them on a sheet of absorbent material.

After two to three days, the petals shrink and dry.

The petals are then alternately layered with salt, stirred everyday for two weeks until they're dry and crumbly.

Add a fixative to seal in the scents and oils.
The mixture is sealed in a jar to mature for about six weeks.

Rose Pot-pourri

3 cups of red dried rose buds

1 cup of small dried pomegranates

1/2 cup of powdered orris root

1/4 cup of cinnamon

rose or rose geranium essential oil

Paper bag

Place the rose buds and pomegranates in a large bowl and mix in the orris root and cinnamon.

Add several drops of essential oil and continue stirring, so the oil is absorbed by the dry ingredients.

Transfer the mixture to a paper bag, and loosely roll the top.

Leave the bag in a dark place to cure for several weeks.

Every few days, shake the bag.