Pot pourri making components
For pot pourri making, you need 3 or 4 components:
- Pot pourri base - petals, leaves, pods, dried fruit etc
- Pot pourri fragrance - blended essential oils
- Fixative - ground spice or orris root powder to make the fragrance last*
- *If you use fragrance oils instead of essential oils, the fixative can be omitted.
- Toppers - optional decorative pieces to place on top
Traditional pot pourri making
In this method of pot pourri making, the base ingredients are mixed together with a few drops of essential oil and a small amount of fixative (Orris root powder can be obtained from health food shops). Shake thoroughly to mix, and seal for about six weeks inside a tupperware box or plastic container. This allows the fragrance to develop. Store this in a warm dark place, shaking every couple of weeks.
A simple pot pourri making recipe would use about 25% dried lavender by weight mixed with rose buds and rose petals, an orris root powder fixative, and rose and lavender essential oils.
Combinations for different parts of the house
Nearly all traditional pot pourri making recipes include dried lavender. This is fragrant, plentiful and has a scent associated with cleanliness (in fact the name is derived from the latin for "To wash").
For the kitchen: Try adding dried herbs to a base of dried lavender, with lavender and rosemary essential oils.
For the bedroom: The traditional lavender/rose mix is great for bedrooms, as the lavender aids sleep while the rose element is for romance.
For the bathroom: Clean smelling dried lavender with dried citrus and orange and/or lemon oil - this one will also help wake you up in the morning!
The quick way - Modern pot pourri making
A modern short cut in pot pourri making is to omit the fixative and associated fixing or "developing" time and use fragrance oils instead of essential oils. Fragrance oils do not require a fixative as they have been developed to provide a good fragrance over a long period of time. If you are using this method, then just shake all your dry ingredients in a plastic bag with a few drops of oil and leave to stand for a few hours to permeate.
"Toppers" in pot pourri making
Toppers are large decorative pieces for the top of your pot pourri. Toppers for pot pourri making can be made by pressing flowers from your garden or weaving corn or wicker shapes. Our mini lavender bunches on our miscellaneous ingredients page are one example.
See also recipes page.