Natural Scents and Fragrances – Potpourris
7th February 2010 by Karen Bastille No CommentsThere are two types of potpourri, moist and dry, but the dry version is more popular because it takes less time and effort to make. Dried flower blossoms, herbs, and spices chosen for their scent and muted colors are the dominant ingredients; seeds, woods, mosses, roots, resins, and the essential oils extracted from these are added for balance. There is such a vast array of these that you can make a potpourri as individual as you are!
A few recipes are given below; choose ingredients that appeal to you and feel free to cut the amounts in half or double them as your taste and budget allow. If you are lucky enough to have an herb shop nearby where you can purchase your ingredients, you will find them much less expensive. There are also many fine online sources for ordering all that you need to make potpourri. A small container is filled with two or three ounces of potpourri, and a sachet can be made with an ounce or less. Four ounces is usually the minimum amount you can buy of any ingredient; share with a friend or make several potpourris as gifts.
Because the flowers and amounts are never exactly the same, no two potpourris are ever exactly alike. As it ages, a potpourri will change scent, becoming more subtle with time, and you may like it even better six months after you make it.
The container for your potpourri can be the traditional clear apothecary jar with a glass stopper, or it can be as contemporary as a bright plastic cube. However, avoid plastic if your potpourri contains liquid perfume oils that will discolor or cloud it. If a potpourri includes ingredients chosen for their color or shape, a transparent container is important; otherwise, the container can be anything you like.
An old-fashioned way to use a potpourri is to pack it in a covered jar that you open for only half an hour or so each day to release the scent. If you like the idea of a clean, fresh scent surrounding you all the time, put the potpourri in an uncovered dish or basket. (If you use an openwork basket, line the bottom and sides with aluminum foil to keep ingredients from sifting through.) The scent fades more quickly when the potpourri is uncovered, but you can refresh it with a few drops of essential oil or brandy. An open mixture will probably last a season while a covered one may last for several years. Crushing some of the larger petals or leaves also releases new fragrance from an exhausted potpourri.
The making of the potpourri has been simplified, too. Time-honored recipes called for careful picking, sorting, drying in layers, and mixing thousands of rose petals with various spices; it took weeks for the potpourri to cure. But all that prepararation isn’t really necessary. Almost all flowers can be used for bulk if not for their shape, texture, color, or scent. Flowers that retain their colors when dried include corn flowers, marigolds, heather, lavender, blue delphiniums, and purple violets. White flowers (with few exceptions) dry to an unattractive tan color. Deep red roses fade to a prettier shade than pastel roses. Only the petals of roses, lavender, and tuberose hold their scent after drying, but a dominant scent in a mixture of dried petals can be created or emphasized by the addition of essential oils, spices, or herbs which also blend and unify the ingredients.
Depending on the amount of bulk you want in your potpourri or sachet, ingredients can be left whole, crushed between your fingertips, or sifted in a flour sifter.
When using flowers from your garden, cut them on a clear day, after the dew has dried. If you pick them solely for potpourri, cut the stems short, tie the flowers together in bunches, and hang them upside down to dry in a cool, dark, dry place. Or spread a single layer of petals on a wire screen or newspaper, and let them dry until they are as crisp as cornflakes.
Flowers picked for bouquets or ones from the florist can be enjoyed as fresh flowers for a day or two; then before they start to wilt, take them out of the water to dry. The sooner you dry them, the better they will retain their original shapes and essential oils. You must decide which is more important at the time—fresh flowers or the makings of a potpourri. Collect the blossoms, leaves, and petals as they fall off the stems, using them whole or crushing them between your fingers. Some flowers will dry intact on the stems; handle them gently and use them in a combination potpourri and dried flower arrangement. Perfect little roses can be nipped in the bud and used to decorate a potpourri too.
Potpourri Recipes
Citrus (8 ounces)
4 ounces assorted citrus peels (lemon,
lime, orange, tangerine)
1 ounce lovageroot
1 ounce bay laurel leaves
1/2 ounce lemongrass
1/2 ounce acacia buds
1/2 ounce staranise
1/2 ounce rosemary
Herbs and Spices (16 ounces)
3 ounces cinnamon (crushed)
3 ounces pepper mint (whole leaves)
2 ounces hops (whole)
2 ounces camomile (whole flowers)
2 ounces mace (whole)
1 ounce tarragon (whole)
1 ounce cloves (whole)
1 ounce sage (cut and sifted)
1 ounce bay leaves (whole)
Idyllic Herbal (16 ounces)
4 ounces camomile (whole flowers)
4 ounces fennel seed
3 ounces elderflowers (whole)
3 ounces witch hazel (bark)
1 ounce rosemary (cutand sifted)
1 ounce rose hips
Floral (16 ounces)
4 ounces lavender flowers
3 ounces rosebuds
2 ounces angelica
1 ounce sweet woodruff
1 ounce rose geranium leaves
1 ounce lemon verbena
1 ounce mint
1 ounce orrisroot
1 ounce oak moss
1/2 ounce sweet cicely
1/2 ounce thyme
Forest Greenery (16 ounces)
2 ounces sandal wood (or other wood,
chips or powder)
2 ounces assorted mints
2 ounces cedarchips or powder
2 ounces rosewood powder
1 ounce oak moss
1 ounce sage (broken and sifted)
1 ounce eucalyptus leaves (whole)
1 ounce orrisroot
1 ounce camomile flowers
1 ounce lemon verbena
1 ounce musk crystals (synthetic)
1/2 ounce sweet marjoram
1/2 ounce bay laurel leaves
Pastoral (16 ounces)
4 ounces clover blossoms
4ounces heather
4 ounces grasses
4 ounces field flowers















