How to Make Pine Needle Potpourri

If you want to keep the refreshing smell of your Christmas tree in your home, all year long, pine needle potpourri creates a beautiful long-lasting evergreen scent that you can easily make yourself. Pine needle potpourri is a colorful and fragrant mixture of pine, rosehips and strawberry that you can use as a colorful perfumed decoration to lift and liven your home.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 2 cups wild strawberry leaves
• 1/2 cup bayberry leaves
• 1/2 cup rose hips
• 1 cup pine needles
• 1/2 cup miniature pine cones
• 1/4 cup cedar bark or wood chips
• 5 drops pine oil
• 2 tablespoons orrisroot powder

1. Collect the ingredients. Pine needles and cones, cedar bark and/or chips, rose hips and strawberry leaves are all collectible throughout most of the year. To ensure the freshest and finest ingredients, find and collect these potpourri materials yourself.

2. Dry the rose hips, strawberry and bayberry leaves by spreading them out on a piece of screen or in a large colander. Turn the leaves two or three times a day to prevent molding. Once the rose hips and leaves are completely dry, crush them a bit with a mortar and pestle to release the scent.

3. Mix the crushed rose hips and leaves with the pine needles, pine cones and cedar bark or chips.

4. Stir the mixture gently while slowly adding 5 drops of pine oil. Mix well, so that the oil is evenly distributed throughout the potpourri. Allow the oil to dry completely.

5. Add the orrisroot powder while stirring the mixture, again mixing will to distribute the powder evenly. Orrisroot is a vegetable fixative that helps the potpourri hold its scent for long periods of time.

6. Place small amounts of your colorful potpourri in display bowls or sachets, make pine needle potpourri balls or create small aromatic herb pillows.