Preserving Scents from the Garden
Potpourri makes preserving the scents of the summertime garden possible and quite simple. We harvest fresh flowers, herbs, pine cones and Sycamore bark each year for mixing our Garden Potpourri. After processing lots of dried herbs and flower harvests over the years, we found a beautiful use for discard stems that were too large for our tea blends and spice jars. After cutting dried stems down to size, they’re a beautiful and perfect addition to the seasonal potpourri.
Create potpourri by using what you have available. Be sure to add healthy amounts of savory herbs, sweet-smelling flowers, pine and other strong aromatic smells from the garden. Each creation is unique to its environment! Additional ingredients like whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, and drops of essential oils can be added for extra scent. For simmering potpourri, add 1/2-1 cup dried potpourri and 3-4 cups of water to a pot. Bring the heat to medium-high until just simmering; turn down the heat and enjoy! Similarly, this mixture can be added to a small crockpot to enjoy all day. We love this article that was published in The New York Times in 1982:
“SUMMER'S garden is filled with fragrance. There is the sweet smell of mock orange or the heavy odor of lavender. The rose garden offers a mixed perfume, while flower borders are individual with pinks, verbenas, sweet alyssum and petunias adding their scents. As evening comes there will be nicotiana and moonflower.
All these flowers, when gathered and dried, can be made into potpourri. If stored in a ginger pot or clear crystal jar, it will last for years. Lifting the lid will add the scent to a room.
Potpourri means ''fragrant pot'' or ''rotten pot,'' the latter a description of what occurs when a method of moist preparation is followed. The petals are packed down and salted until a cake forms. Although this ''pickling'' recipe produces a pot that lasts longer, it is not appealing to look at. More colorful and easier is the dry method, with rose petals as the basis.
Since this is a spectacular year for rose gardens, the supply should be generous. Shrub or heritage roses have the most fragrance, particularly Rosa gallica and R. centifolia, which date from ancient times.
Although few gardeners choose to have these large shrub roses, some of their modern descendants are widely grown. The most fragrant offspring include Chrysler Imperial, Crimson Glory, Tiffany, Peace, Tropicana and the new All-America rose selection, Sweet Surrender.
Midmorning is the best time to gather flowers for drying, just after dew has evaporated but before the sun is high. Try to gather a few fully open roses daily. Other flowers can be gathered as available. Avoid overblown flowers or those with bruised petals.Remove individual flowers and discard the stems.
Since the fragrance is derived from the aromatic oils or resins in the petals, drying must be done carefully. Petals dry best in a dimly lighted spare room or attic where there is good air circulation. They should not be allowed to bunch together or become mildewed.
A simple drying setup is an old window screen propped on two chairs. Scatter the petals on the screen one layer deep and add to them as needed. Check them every day or so and use an old spatula to turn them gently. The petals are ready when they look and feel crisp, like dry cereal. In average summer weather this takes about a week, longer when it is hot and humid. As each batch dries, add it to a jar for storage.
Some herbs may be added: any of the mints, thyme, basil and lemon verbena. Consider marigold petals for color and do not overlook rose geranium leaves. Other popular potpourri ingredients are thin slices of dried orange or lemon rind and powdered spices, especially cinnamon, cloves and allspice.
When enough petals, herbs and leaves are assembled, the final touch is a fixative to seal in the oils and prevent evaporation. Fixatives are sold at specialty drug stores and some craft centers; orris root powder and gum benzoin are among the most popular.
Scores of recipes are available. The one provided here, adapted from ''The Complete Book of Herbs & Spices'' by Sarah Garland (Viking, $25), is basic and illustrates the variety of herbs, petals and spices that can be used. When any ingredient is not be available, substitutes can be made. Dry Potpourri 10 cups rose petals 2 1/2 cups pinks petals 2 1/2 cups lemon verbena leaves 2 1/2 cups lavender flowers 1 1/2 cups rosemary flowers and leaves 1 1/4 cups sweet marjoram flowers and leaves 1/2 cup peppermint geranium leaves 1 tablespoon powdered orris root 1 tablespoon powdered gum benzoin 1/2 vanilla pod, chopped fine 1/4 cup dried orange or lemon peel 1 teaspoon crushed allspice 1 teaspoon crushed coriander 1 teaspoon dried cinnamon 2 ground bay leaves 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 tablespoon dried ginger.
Mix all ingredients and store in a ginger jar for six weeks to blend. Stir occasionally.”
A version of this article appears in print on June 24, 1982, Section C, Page 7 of the National edition with the headline: GARDENING; POTPOURRI: PRESERVING SCENTS OF SUMMER.
Flower Sachets are cotton drawstring bags packed full with 0.5 oz of ground Lavender, Yarrow, Wild Bergamot and Peppermint. Add the natural scents of summertime blooms to drawers and vehicles, and naturally repel moths from closets. Sachets are filled with only flowers and herbs; they are completely essential oil/fragrance-free. Our potpourri is also offered essential oil-free for extra sensitive noses!
A beautiful mix of homegrown ingredients like Sage, Thyme, Lavender, Sage, Anise Hyssop, Tulsi and Yarrow make our Garden Potpourri pop! The scented Garden Potpourri includes a blend of Cinnamon, Orange, Grapefruit, Frankincense and Eucalyptus essential oils. NEW in 2023: Italian Herb Potpourri, a bright new blend that is essential oil-free and contains Sage, Rosemary & Thyme. Fill your home with summertime garden scents! Fragrant batches of potpourri can be used for home and table decor and it is also wonderful for respiratory care, especially during dry seasons. See the simmering potpourri recipe below:
The potpourri makes a beautiful and fragrant addition to home decor. Our favorite way to use it is for simmering potpourri: add 1/2 C of Potpourri to 4 C water in a crockpot or on the stovetop. Heat to a simmer and then turn down to med-low heat. All potpourri ingredients are grown, harvested and dried at our farm. It is packaged in recyclable brown paper bags.