Ways to Make a Potpourri Exciting

There are innumerable ways to spice up the interiors of a home and make it appear fresh and new to visitors. There are a whole lot of things to do here: You can spray some perfume around the nook and corners of your house or you can simply dip a piece of paper in sandalwood or lemongrass oil and leave it lying in one quiet corner. You can try painting the walls or change the wallpaper, or just shift a few furniture about here and there. You can buy new decoration pieces to fill the shelves of the glass cupboards in the drawing room. You can even think about changing the covers of the cushions on the sofas and chairs. Well, there’s really no end to the list of things that one could do to ensure that the insides of the home wears a fresh, revamped look. But nothing can really replicate the effects of a potpourri.


Now, while many people would have heard of the term “potpourri”, there would be a lot among the masses who might not have come across this term in their lifetime. To define potpourri in an easy manner, it consists of dried flower petals and other plants parts, arranged in a visually pleasing manner within a bowl or jar, with a few drops of essential oils or spices sprinkled over them. Dry flowers in Kolkata are not hard to find, if you know where to look. You visit a store, get some of the choicest dried flowers (or petals/buds), and some accessories such as sandalwood sticks, orris root or ground cinnamon power. The mixture is then poured into a bowl, box, glass jar or any similar container. There are a few more ways available to enhance the already stunning aesthetic appeal that the idea of a potpourri brings to the table. These are as follows:

• Sprinkle a few shells and pebbles here and there to fill up any gaps that might be existing between the ingredients. Or, still better, one can make a bed of pebbles (white or multi-coloured) on which the ingredients can be made to rest in an organised manner. Adding a smallish conch shell to the mix would put the cherry on top of the luscious-looking cake.
• Dried petals from various different flowers can be taken together and tied up together to form a beautiful ‘flower’. Many such combinations of floral delights could be arranged on a tray following a pattern. A wax coating could also be added for the ‘immortally new’ effect.
• Add a lot of spices such as cloves, cumin and cinnamon. They can lend a slightly different and pungent aroma to the all-too-common sweetness that potpourri preparations usually exude. Black pepper from crushers-like containers could also be sprinkled all over in a light manner to add some fun. 
• Dry fruits and nuts can be used to ramp up the look and give it the feel of a specialty decor store. Pine cones, dried apricots, acorns, hazelnuts and cherries can be added liberally. Just make sure that they don’t hijack the potpourri, because it’s supposed to be primarily about dried flowers.  

Enjoy making a fantastic potpourri in your home.