Potpourri is a blend of dried ingredients, oils, and spices that gives off a gentle natural scent. In spite of its name, making a potpourri mix is far from complicated, and you can make some yourself using dried flowers and essential oils. Opt for flowers like lavender, roses, pinks, and calendula that hold onto their natural color when dry.
Don’t know where to get dried flowers? Making them is simple enough - take a look at our guide on drying flowers for more info. And if you need flowers to start with, at Direct2Florist we have a huge network of florists worldwide ready to deliver whenever you need. Just begin your search above and you can find the perfect bouquet for any occasion - which you can dry afterward! Here are some practical ways to make potpourri using dried flowers.
Experiment with your combination of ingredients
There’s so much fun involved in getting creative and trying out different combinations of ingredients. You can set off on your own with a little basic knowledge and come up with beautiful mixtures.
Start by combining your dried flowers with some tree bark; anything available will do. You could also add some sweet-smelling spices into your mixture for spicy potpourri. Many people fancy include fruit peels into their mix, so you could try that too.
Place your ingredients in an airtight jar
As soon as your dried flowers are delivered, put them in a mason jar or an airtight container. Try not to crush or crumble them too much as you transfer them into the container. Before closing the jar, add a few drops of essential oil to your dry ingredients and then leave it for a couple of weeks.
The idea behind leaving the container closed for a long time is to allow the dried flowers to absorb the oil properly to produce sweet-smelling and long-lasting scents. If you’re using a large bowl, seal it up with a lid or a plastic wrap.
Mix your dried flower with cloves, cinnamon sticks, and orange peels
This is one of the simplest ways of making spicy potpourri. Select your ingredients based on the theme you want to achieve. Gather some dried flower petals, like rose petals, into a mason jar. Add some cloves, cinnamon sticks, and orange peels.
These ingredients complement each other in terms of fragrance and appearance. Additionally, they combine well to produce a classic looking and great smelling potpourri mixture! Then you can add a few drops of essential oil. Some ideal options are rose oil, lemon oil, cinnamon oil, bayberry oil, or honeysuckle oil.
Add some orris root powder
After drying your flower petals, please place them in a container and add a couple of drops of essential oil, as mentioned above. Add a little orris root powder into the mixture and shake it up. Seal up the container and allow it to sit for at least two weeks.
If you want a more potent fragrance, you can leave the container sealed for a longer amount of time. The idea of adding orris root powder is to prevent the essential oils from evaporating. Besides, it will ensure your mixture has a long-lasting sweet smell.
Heating the ingredients in a crockpot
If you’re looking to achieve an autumn theme, this method is perfect for you. For this recipe, you’d need dried flower petals, orange peels, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and some cups of water. Put all your ingredients into a crockpot, add some water, and set the heat to high. Leave the cover off and allow it to cook for a couple of hours.
