Heaven Scent

Heaven Scent
Preserve the colour and aroma of herbs and flowers with Janie Mann’s fragrant pot-pourri ideas

In winter it is rewarding to fill your house with the fragrance of flowers, leaves and herbs which you collected through the summer. The soft, gentle colour of natural dried flowers are so beautiful compared to the over-bright, dyed colours available in some mass-produced pot-pourri.
Timing is the key to successfully harvesting your flowers. They must be perfectly dry, so attempt to pick them on a sunny day after the morning dew has evaporated.
Ideally choose flowers that are not fully open as they will continue to bloom during the drying period. Pick lavender when the buds have just reached the deep purple stage, before it is fully open. If you want to use whole heads of roses in your mix, then also pick them when the bud is showing colour.
Dry your flowers, herbs and leaves by spreading them in a single layer on a wooden tray, basket or muslin stretched over a frame. Leave them in a warm place and preferably in the dark-an airing cupboard is ideal.

You will need
CONTRY Rose Garden Pot-pourri

• 4 Cups roses (heads and petals)
• 2 cups dark blue delphinium
• 1 cup lavender
• 1 pinch powdered cinnamon
• 2.5ml (1/2 tsp.) Rose oil

Orange Spice Pot-pourri

• 1 cup bay leaves
• 1 cup dried red chilies
• 1 cup dried lemon grass
• ½ cup rosemary
• ½ cup dried orange peel
• A few cinnamon sticks
• 2ml Orange Spice Oil

Step by step

Step 1
Mix together all the dried ingredients. Slowly dip the required amount of oil, stirring and mixing gently but thoroughly. Avoid any one flower head becoming soaked with the oil.

Step 2
When thoroughly mixed, put the pot-pourri into a thick paper bag (don’t use a plastic one). Leave this in the bag for at least two weeks. Don’t leave it anywhere too hot or damp, and shake occasionally.

Step 3
The fragrance should last at least six months. When it’s time to revive the pot-pourri, repeat from step 2.

Tip
Once you’ve made your pot-pourri, there are many ways to use and display it. Bowls look beautiful anywhere, and as you pass by you can gently stir them to release the glorious fragrance. The rose pot-pourri can easily be made into a pretty sachet for you to place in a drawer or hang in a cupboard. Here’s an effective and simple way of doing this ….

Make a scented sachet
Step 1
Take an embroidered handkerchief and lay it flat.

Step 2
Place a small handful of pot-pourri in the centre

Step 3
Bring each corner up to meet its opposite and place a rubber band around the handkerchief at the top of the ball of pot-pouri.

Step 4
Tie a co-ordinating ribbon around to hide the rubber band.

Step 5
If you want to hang the sachet, tie a further loop of ribbon to the back of the sachet. This sachet can also be made using a square of any fabric with a hemmed or ‘pinked’ edge, and could then be matched to your décor.