Information on How to Make Potpourri
Floral potpourri is a mixture of fragrant and decorative dried flowers, leaves, seeds, pods, citrus rinds and other natural materials. It's an ideal way to use up those flowers that fell apart during drying, making them unsuitable for other craft projects. Potpourri is an inexpensive yet rustically elegant gift. Fill a decorative bowl with the fragrant potpourri mixture or stuff a small cloth bag with potpourri to make a sachet for the lingerie drawer or linen closet.
Things You'll Need
- Flowers
- Leaves
- Dried natural material
- Large bowl
- Essential oil
- Wooden spoon
- Airtight container
Instructions
-
-
1
Gather flowers for your potpourri. Good flowers for potpourri include roses, lavender, pansies, lilac, marigold and strawflowers.
-
2
Collect fragrant leaves, such as lavender, mint, rosemary, lemon verbena, thyme, hyssop or geranium.
-
-
3
Dry the flowers and leaves. Do this by tying each into a bundle, like a bouquet. Hang the bundles upside down in a warm, dry, dark, well-ventilated area for about three weeks.
-
4
Remove the dried flower heads and dried leaves from the stems and discard the stems.
-
5
Gather other items for the potpourri, such as dried orange peel, cinnamon sticks, dried flower pods and small pinecones.
-
6
Combine a mixture of the dried flower heads, dried leaves and other dried items in a large bowl and toss like a salad using your hands. The fragrance of the potpourri will depend on what combination of items you use in the mix.
-
7
Add a drop or two of essential oil to the mix. Select an essential oil with a scent that is compatible with the mixture of dried ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon.
-
8
Pour the mixture into an airtight container and let it set for a month to age, which makes its scent stronger.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit Dried flowers image by MAXFX from Fotolia.com
