After the Flowers Have Gone: How to Make Pot Pourri

Buying fresh flowers is a wonderful luxury, and an affordable way to brighten the days of our loved ones. I'm not sure if you are anything like me, but I always feel a twinge of guilt after the flowers have withered and died and I'm faced with putting a gift from someone I love in the trash! If you feel the same, today we are exploring an alternative to throwing your fresh flowers away and will show you how to make a beautiful pot pourri.

Roses in pot pourri

If you've received a bunch of roses by flower delivery and can’t bear to throw them out, don’t stress. The fresh flowers are highly scented and retain quite a lot of their aroma through the life of the petals. Different colors of roses create different scents:

• Red and pink roses tend to have the standard, sweet scent we know particularly as rose.
• White and yellow roses have a tinge of violet and nasturtium in their perfume.
• Hawaii roses are scented like raspberries.
• Orange roses have citrus and other fruity scents.

Rose pot pourri recipe

Combine your fresh flowers with the following ingredients to keep them for months after they've been delivered.

• 6 cups of rose petals
• 2 cups miniature rosebuds
• 2 cups lavender
• 1 cup rose leaves
• 2 tablespoons of orris root (available from florists) or fiberfix, available from craft shops
• 15 drops rose oil

Once the petals of your fresh flowers look past their best, spread them out on a mesh screen or large tray. Stir them around a little each day.

Put the dried petals in a large bowl, and mix your orris root or fiberfix through. Drop the rose oil in a few drops at a time, mixing with your hands constantly.

Leave your mixture in a roughly sealed paper bag for four to six weeks -- this allows the scent to fully permeate the petals of your once-fresh flowers! Shake it occasionally, and once it is seasoned you can display it in open bowls throughout the house. When the scent fades, you can simply add a little more essential oil. Much easier to revive than fresh flowers … although not quite so pretty.