How to Make Rose Potpourri:
Roses and flowers should be cut early in the morning after the dew is gone. The fresher the flower the more essential oil remaining after the flower is dried. Depending on the rose petals used will depend on the fragrance, all flower petals can be used in a mixture of potpourri for color. You can pick violets, lavender, and herbs.
Gently pinch petals from flowers to make your potpourri. Spread all buds, petals and leaves out to dry away from metal. Metal causes the flower petals to turn color. Place petals on a paper towel or wood. Turn gently every day, it only take a couple days for your petals to dry, until limp. Damp petals can spoil a whole batch of dried petals. Total drying of the petals takes 4 days to 2 weeks. This process can be speeded up by placing the flower petals on a cookie sheet and placing in a warm oven of 110F. Leave door open to allow moisture from the flower petals to escape. Stir or shake gently to get flower petals to dry evenly 1-2 hours is the usual drying time. This quick method will cause the petals to lose more of their color intensity than petals dried the slow process.
The flower petals are mixed with a fixative to absorb the fragrance oils and preserve the fragrance. Common fixative are orrisroot, benzoin, storax a ¼ lb. of any of these fixatives is enough for a 1 qt. potpourri. These fixatives can be found from an herbalist in your phone book.
Recipe:
Mix dried petals with the fixative and whatever spices and other fragrant materials you have. Mix and store in a tightly covered container for several weeks until the fragrance blends and mellows. Place flower petal potpourri in a clear glass jar with removable lid, you will be able to observe any changes your potpourri petals go through.
Rose Potpourri:
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups dried pink and red rose petals
2 ½ cups dried mint leaves
4 lbs dried rue sprigs
2 ½ cups dried red rosebuds
4 tbs dried rosemary flowers and leaves
¼. Chop the vanilla pod finely, mix together with the orris root, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix the oils together in a cup.
Put the dried herbs in a wide mouthed jar in layers, starting with rose petals, then a layer of mint and rue, then rosebuds, and finally the rosemary. On each layer, sprinkle a little orris, cinnamon, and clove mixture. Drop or two of the oil mixture. Finish with a layer of rose petals.
Rosebud Petals and Lavender Potpourri:
2 cups rosebuds and petals
1 cup lavender flowers
½ cup lemon verbena
½ cup thyme
½ cup rosemary
¼. Store the finished potpourri in a covered container in a dark, cool place and let it age and mellow for 6 weeks. Stir or shaking it every few days. The finished potpourri can be used in sachets, to freshen up any room.
