Making Potpourri From Your Garden

When planting your garden you probably think about how beautiful it will look as it grows, but why not consider how wonderful it will smell, also? Many of your favorite flowers, herbs, spices, and even seeds can be used to make potpourri that can fill your home with your favorite fragrances from the garden.

Choosing Ingredients

You can use any good-smelling flower, herb, spice, or seed when making potpourri. Some popular flower petals used in potpourri are Carnation, Delphinium, Lavender, Marigold, Rose, and Violet. Most of the scent of potpourri comes from the leaves, herbs, and spices used, like Cedar chips, Lemon Verbena, Pine needles, Rosemary, Spearmint, and Strawberry leaves. Potpourri ingredients are limited only by your imagination, so try lots of different combinations to find your favorite.

When you are selecting the ingredients for your potpourri be sure to pick flowers and leaves that are free of pests and blemishes. Also, be careful not the crush or damage the petals or leaves, because that will cause loss of the essential oils from the plant, and the scent of your potpourri will not be strong.

Drying Your Potpourri

There are two ways of drying the ingredients for your potpourri: air drying and hanging. To air dry your ingredients, lay them in a single layer on something that allows good air circulation, like a screen. When hanging your ingredients, hang them in small bunches and bind the stems with elastic, because the stems will shrink and may become loose and fall if bound with twine or wire. With both drying methods you should store your potpourri in a warm, dry, dark place until your ingredients are dry – about two weeks.

Putting it All Together

One of the most important ingredients of any potpourri is the fixative, which absorbs the essential oils and keeps the potpourri’s scent much longer than it would last on its own. The most common fixative is powdered orris root, which should be added to your potpourri mixture at one tablespoon for every cup of potpourri.

When combining your dry ingredients and fixative, crushing some of the leaves and herbs will release more of the [fragrance] and make the scent of your potpourri stronger. Extra essential oils can also be added with an eye dropper at this time.

Store your completed mixture in air tight containers in a cool, dark place for a few weeks to allow for the scent to build. Stir or shake the mixture every few days – this is a great time to sneak a sniff!

When you are ready to display your potpourri, set it out in a clear glass container so you can appreciate the beauty of your accomplishment. Keep unused portions in airtight containers to replenish your display when the scent fades.

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