How to Make Potpourri – Instructions and Recipes
- Harvesting Your Ingredients. Handle your herbs and flowers carefully , Once the have been bruised you will have lost any value in them for their essential oils.
- Drying Methods. The drying process usually takes up to 2 weeks in general. There are two processes for drying flowers and herbs.
- Storing The Potpourri. Store your “New” potpourri in airtight containers or plastic bags. Store in a cool dark place until needed.
- Making The Potpourri. To make the potpourri you basically need four main ingredients. ...
- Purple Haze
- American Dream
- Citrus Delight
- Wild Flower Fields. Orris root helps to preserve the fragrance of the herbs and flowers, it has little scent of its own so it is a good base to use ...
How do I make my own potpourri?
After the dried fruit is completely cool, place it in a sealable plastic bag. Add dried bay leaves, a teaspoon of cinnamon, cloves, cinnamon sticks and a few drops of orange and clove essential oils. Seal and shake the bag to mix all of the ingredients.
How do you make potpourri from fresh flowers?
In a bowl, combine one cup of dried rose petals, one half cup of dried lavender, and one quarter cup of dried rosemary. Add one eighth teaspoon of ground cloves and cinnamon, plus dried rosebuds and orange peels. Add a few drops of rose or lavender oil. Add one quarter teaspoon of fixative like crushed orris root.
How do you make potpourri from the garden?
Classic Summer Potpourri½ cup dried rose petals.½ cup dried lavender flowers.1/3 cup dried small rose buds.1/3 cup dried scented geranium leaves.one orange peel, cut into thin slices and dried.¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon.2-3 drops of lavender or rose essential oil or both, mixed with a teaspoon of water.
What does potpourri consist of?
Potpourri is one of the most delightful ways to preserve the fragrance of a garden. Pronounced poh‐pooh‐ree and meaning “rotten pot” in French, it is a mixture of dried flower petals, herbs, spices, essential oils and natural fixatives to provide a pleasant aroma.
How do you dry flowers quickly for potpourri?
Never place wilted or discolored flowers in your drying mix. Select silica gel for a fast method that will dry your flowers. Reuse silica gel repeatedly by heating it to 250 degrees for 60 minutes to allow it to dry thoroughly. Always cut plants, herbs, and other materials with sharp scissors or a sharp knife.
What flowers are good for potpourri?
Some plants you can use for potpourri include roses and rose buds, lavender, any member of the mint family, calendula, pansies, violets, lemon verbena, strawflowers, larkspur, scented geranium flowers and leaves, rosemary flowers and leaves, thyme flowers and leaves, angelica, gomphrena and statice -- just to name a ...
How do you make herbal potpourri?
Ingredients4-5 cups organic mixed bulk herbs.1 Tbsp. organic orris root powder.5 drops organic geranium essential oil.5 drops organic ginger essential oil.5 drops organic clove bud essential oil.2 drops organic Douglas fir essential oil.2 drops organic lemon essential oil.
How do you make potpourri smell stronger?
Add drops of the matching oil to your potpourri any time you want to make it smell stronger. Other tips for preserving the scent: Gently move your potpourri around in its container every so often. If it's in a sachet, squeeze the bag once in awhile to release the scent.
Can you make potpourri from dried flowers?
1:376:15How to Make Potpourri at Home | DIY Dried Flower Tutorial - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou'll simply spread out the flowers on top of a cooling rack with parchment paper underneath whileMoreYou'll simply spread out the flowers on top of a cooling rack with parchment paper underneath while you're doing this you can go ahead and preheat your oven to 200 degrees fahrenheit or 93.
How do you make potpourri moist?
Moist Potpourri ⅓ cup ground allspice ⅓ cup ground nutmeg 1¼cups orrisroot powder Grated rind 3 lemons ½ cup oil of rose gerartium cup coarse or kosher salt ½ cup fine salt ½ounce lemon oil ounce bergamot oil ½ ounce lavender oil 32 cups dried petals of roses and/or other flowers in season.
Do you boil potpourri?
Stovetop potpourri should be heated just below a simmer. Bring it to a simmer, then lower the heat. On that note, don't leave the house with a stovetop potpourri going. They're perfect for days when you're hosting a house full of company or you're hanging out at home.
How do you make potpourri without an oven?
Use an eyedropper to pour 2 drops of essential oils into your ingredients. Put 1 drop on each side of your container to evenly disperse them. Rose oil, cinnamon oil, lemon oil, orange oil, honeysuckle oil, and bayberry oil are all great choices for potpourri.
Harvesting Your Ingredients
Handle your herbs and flowers carefully , Once the have been bruised you will have lost any value in them for their essential oils.
Drying Methods
The drying process usually takes up to 2 weeks in general. There are two processes for drying flowers and herbs. * Keep in a warm dark place that has good air circulation.
Storing The Potpourri
Store your “New” potpourri in airtight containers or plastic bags. Store in a cool dark place until needed.
Choose Potpourri Flowers and Plant Material
The best flowers for potpourri are those that retain their color and shape when you dry them. If they are fragrant too, that is a bonus, but you can always add fragrance. In fact, it's better not to use too many fragrant flowers, as the perfumes can clash when combined.
Potpourri Making Supplies
Purchase a fixative to help your potpourri fragrance last longer. Orris root, made from the rhizomes of irises, is one of the most popular fixatives. The powdered root has a light floral fragrance. Other fragrant fixatives include vanilla beans, oakmoss, angelica root, and myrrh gum.
Moist or Dry Potpourri Recipes
For the most fragrant potpourri, start with freshly picked ingredients you've dried for a few days. The materials should be pliable and not yet brittle. Layer plant materials with coarse salt in a bowl, alternating layers. After a few weeks, stir the mixture and add your fixatives and oils.
Potpourri Display
Choose any type of non-metal container or vessel to display your potpourri, as metals can react with the essential oils. 2 Baskets, jars, and bowls are common potpourri holders. Choose a container with a perforated lid if pets or small children can't resist picking through the dried flowers, which are a choking hazard.
What is potpourri?
Potpourri can be a mixture of flowers, fruit, oils and other natural scents.
How to make homemade potpourri
The cinnamon and cloves together create such a rich fragrance that I also enjoy simmering this homemade potpourri during the day to get us in the holiday spirit.
Can you use essential oils in this mixture?
Of course you can! If you have a favorite oil just add a few drops while it’s simmering.
Can you leave this on the stove?
Turn the stove off before all the liquid is drained and add a bit more water and freshen with oils and you’re good to go the next day!
Making Potpourri From the Garden
When choosing flowers for potpourri, look for those that hold onto their color and still look good when dry, like bachelor buttons, calendula, Echinops, geraniums, larkspur, lavender, peonies, pinks, roses, and yarrow.
Homemade Potpourri Embellishments
It’s okay to add some extras to your homemade potpourri, too. Your local craft store probably has lots of potpourri standards like sandalwood chips and patchouli. Don't hesitate to look for ingredients that will add some bulk to your potpourri mix.
Adding Scent to Potpourri
As woodsy as fresh potpourri can smell, it’s probably not enough of a fragrance for most people’s tastes and it won't fill a room with its aroma. That’s where essential oils and fixatives come in.
The Easiest Method to Make Potpourri
No matter how you make your potpourri, do not use metal bowls or utensils. These can react with your ingredients and alter the fragrance. Glass, ceramic, and wood are the safest materials. Plastic is fine too, but the scent will linger in the container for weeks.
Using Your Potpourri
Of course, you could display your homegrown potpourri front and center in an attractive bowl on your coffee table. Another option is to make sachet bags and fill them with your fragrant concoctions. Even if you’re not handy with a needle, you can find small, net bags at the craft store.
Start with Dry Petals
In a potpourri of dried flowers, the majority of the contents should be flower petals, as they add a delicate, airy beauty to the mixture.
Include Full Flower Blooms
Complement the petals in your potpourri with whole, dried flower blooms.
Accent with Dried Botanicals
The focus of this potpourri is the flowers, so when it comes to additional botanicals, a little goes a long way.
Homemade Potpourri Recipes
You can make instant simmering potpourri from anything that smells good while it’s being simmered, and you probably have a lot of stuff on hand already that qualifies:
Instant Simmering Potpourri Recipes
These recipes can be ridiculously simple. Just cinnamon sticks simmering in a cup of water on low heat makes a wonderful cinnamon smell.
Dried potpourri recipes
If you want to do a little more work, you can create dried potpourri which will let off scent just sitting a bowl, or wrapped in a sachet, or even from simmering. In fact, simmering is a great way to get one last burst of scent from dried potpourri that’s losing its aroma.
