Mixing A Summer's Potpourri

Just as in gathering your flowers, mixing your potpourri should be a sensory pleasure. Enjoyed when you can linger over the process, fragrances and tactile sensations. While mixing, remember your garden, the sunny days, it's sights and sounds. The enjoyment of growing and harvesting. Put on some music, gather your children to help mix or just to observe with wide eyes, and you have more than just a recipe for potpourri... you have the makings of a lovely summer afternoon.

When you're sure that all your plant material is very dry combine them in a large bowl or other suitable container as long as it's not metal. Be aware, that due to the essential oils, the container you mix in will be fairly permanently scented. Choose wisely! At ButtonWillow we've chosen a pretty bowl that is forever the Cottage Potpourri Mixing Bowl! Add your spices, fixatives and essential oils to this (trying to get as much of the oils on the fixative as possible), then mix gently until well blended. (Note: Some may wish to wear a dust mask during this blending process so as not to aggravate fragile sinuses or allergies).

Seal and store in a cool, dark place for three to six weeks. You can cover your bowl with plastic wrap, or you can store it in jars, paper sacks, or ziplock bags. Shake or stir it every day. After this time, display in your choice of basket or bowl. Some store in an airtight container which they only open when they want to perfume the room. This method allows the potpourri to last much longer. Sunlight and dust will shorten its life. But, of course, then it allows you the pleasure to create more!

*A word about fixatives-- Most common is Orris root which is from the root of the Florentine Iris and has a very light fragrance. Other fixative choices are Oak Moss, Cellulose, or gum benzoin. Ask at your herbalist or craft store.