Ottawa Horticultural Society

http://www.ottawahort.org

Potpourri

Anyone with a garden can make their own potpourri, or for that matter anyone with a few pots of herbs and who receives bouquets of flowers can have the fun of making their own. Any colorful scented flowers or leaves can be dried and mixed to make a pleasing potpourri. Start saving your roses, lilacs, peonies, lavender, mint, lemonbalm, santolina, sage and others, either by hanging them in small bunches, or drying them face up on an old window screen. You can also simply let your arrangements and bouquets run out of water and let them dry in the vase.

After a few weeks your ingredients should be dry and you can start to mix them in an old sheet laid on the floor. Strip the leaves off their stems and add the colours that you want. Whatever is pleasing to your nose is just fine, call it your house blend and use and give it with pride. Some combinations that I have used are, roses, mint, lavender, and lemonbalm. Once I found dry orange peels, I had the start of a citrus/spice mixture suitable for men. Moths don't like the herbs mint, lavender, santolina, or sage, so I made up moth bags to keep with my woolens and linens. When you are happy with your mix, store it in an airtight container like an empty plastic ice cream container) with the lid on for a few weeks so the scents can blend. Next simply fill clear glass containers or pretty cloth bags with your blend. Enjoy!

(Laraine, who wrote the article "Victorian Poseys and the Language of Flowers" for the Centennial Yearbook, is Vice President of the Roral Art Group of the National Capital Region and a Director of the Society.)

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