Most little girls try their hand at making
‘perfume’ with rose petals and water. The
results however are often more English
Channel than French Chanel. As a fragrant
alternative, try making potpourri – using
everyday ingredients found in a typical
garden. Potpourri is a natural air-freshener
that provides a pleasant fragrance to
your house. While the original potpourri can be
traced back to 17th Century France, today
most potpourri is bought in packs and
placed in cupboards to remove any musty
smell.
Gather the ingredients:
Once the dew has dried in your
garden, get outside and gather any richly
scented leaves, flowers and herbs. Pick a much
larger bunch of flowers,herbs and leaves than
you think you’ll need because, once they’re
dry, they’ll be a fraction of their original size
(think cooked spinach).Naturally scented
Plants:
Some of the naturally scented plants
that you should look out for include allspice,cedar
wood shavings (toxic, a moth repellent),
cinnamon bark and cassia bark, cloves,cypress wood
shavings (toxic, a moth repellent), fennel
seed,incense-cedar wood shavings, jasmine
flowers and oil,lavender leaves and
flowers,lemon balm leaves and
flowers,lemon peel,mint leaves and
flowers,orange peel,rose flowers, hips,
or oil,rosemary leaves and flowers.
Dry your collection:
Gently spread out your
leaves and flowers in a single layer, put them in
a warm, dark place where air can circulate
and leave them to dry for one to two weeks.
You can even dry them in an oven that is left
slightly ajar.Microwaving them is
not advisable as they may not only singe but
explode.
Make your mix:
When they are completely dry,
mix your leaves and flowers together. Then,
for every two handfuls of your mixture, add
one or two tablespoons of dried orris root
(available from health food shops and is a
tradition fixative for potpourri), and two or
three drops of an essential or fragrance
oil, such as lavender or rose. Add in dried citrus
peels if they suit the mix. These are
especially good with woody scents. The
potpourri that you can buy off the shelf
usually has strong synthetic perfumes and
dyes that give it a powerful fragrance.
Store them in style:
Sew little fabric bags to
make sachets for clothes drawers or to
give as gifts. Or put potpourri in bowls
around the house. Another alternative is
to use netted freezer bags to hang the
potpourri in cupboards to fight away the
mustiness. Even a pierced plastic box can
be an ideal container for your home-brew
potpourri.Shortcut signature
Smell:
For those of you who don’t have access
to a garden and all the raw materials needed
you can start off with a purchased Potpourri
pack. You then embellish it with your own
ingredients, whatever you can get your hands
on. Another alternative is to get an unscented
mixture and then to add your own scented
materials
