Four Steps to Make a Potpourri

Potpourris are one of the most organic ways to brighten up your daily life and add a dash of colour and glamour to the drabness of monotony. Usually prepared from dried flowers, essential oils and other plant parts, potpourris are sometimes beautified by the addition of scented wood, rosewater and dried nuts. Sometimes an exotic component or two is added to the mix, e.g. dried pine cones. Potpourris are things that can be put to more than one use. Not only do they serve to beautify the environment of your room, but also the fragrance generated by them helps to freshen up your mood after a long, hard day at the office. 

So, what are the ways in which one can make potpourris? Below are the ways how:

• The first step involves gathering some flowers (or flower petals) and hanging them out to dry. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest thing to do would be just to gather them together, tie their stems together with some twine and then hang them upside down. After a couple of weeks in the sun, they would be bone-dry with absolutely no trace of moisture left in them (One needs to be very cautious about this because if the plant parts manage to get wet somehow, then moisture and mold are sure to develop on them).   

•  Once the drying-out process is complete, the next step would be to put the stuff into an air-tight container, add a few drops of essential oil to the mix and then close the lid tightly. You’ll need to wait another six to seven days until the oil has been completely absorbed by the petals.

•  Once all the primary preparations are done and dusted with, you can take out the dried plant parts and arrange them into a decorative glass bowl. Alongside the dried petals and stems, you can try putting stones, shells, sandalwood, cloves and cardamom. This will add sharpness to the cocktail of fragrances and will endow it with some extra kick. A small tip: try using rosewood doused and dried after being soaked in lavender oil for a week. Also sneak in some nuts with ground spices sprinkled over them.

• You can use a variety of containers: it can be bowl, a jar, a wine glass, tall slender juice glasses, or just a box. In any case, you need to make sure that the ingredients are perfectly blending in with the rest of your environment and that it is really adding to the way your home interior looks and feels. 

And finally, your enchanting potpourri is ready, all set to welcome and enthral whoever walks into your room at whatever time of the month. In order to keep the scent alive and fresh, you have to remember to keep adding several drops of essential oil at regular intervals, as well to check on the ingredients to see if anything is rotting or developing molds. You can also make wet potpourris soaked in scented water, stored in closed air-tight containers.