There’s no denying the fact that flowers our outright gorgeous. Hence, we tend to hold on the last petal of every single bouquet we receive, till the very last leaf comes off. It’s always a beautiful thing to keep your center tables across living rooms, kitchen, and even bedrooms smell great with fresh blooms. But, as soon as the flowers dry and fall off, the smell seems to go away as well. Fret not. There are still quite a few ways to make the sweet fragrance of flowers linger across your living spaces. One such excellent choice is making potpourri using dry flowers, and it’s a great choice of doing if you are a DIY type. But before we move on to explore the steps towards making a potpourri, here’s a little head start on working with dried flowers.
Pressing Flowers in Your Home
A great way to keep all your favorite blossoms preserved is to press them. Say, for instance, the first bouquet from your husband on your anniversary, the flowers from your bedside table when you had your baby, these are significant moments, and any stuff that bespeaks of them are trophies for the same. How about preserving them so that you can bask in the moment forever?
Start pressing flowers when they are still fresh and free from moisture. If you plan on using pressed flowers to make a potpourri at home, you might well pick one from your garden and use it the very next day. This allows them to keep their colors intact. You must imagine how it’s going to be before you take to pressing flowers. One should keep in mind to free the petals and keep them for overlapping unless you are trying to achieve any particular artistic effect. Normally, the flowers should be laid all the way flat. The use of heavy books for pressing flowers is a sure-fire technique that works just about right. However, don’t go straightway pressing the flowers underneath your books. First, place the flowers right between two single sheets of paper and leave a space of at least 1/8 inch between the pressings and then weigh down by your books. You should leave it as it is for at least 4-5 weeks to get your desired pressing effect.
Another great way to go about pressing flowers is the use of the microwave. However, this is quite a mix and match of the book pressing technique. The inclusion of microwave is nothing but an improvisation to boost the process. Put the flowers with books weighed down on them and run the microwave in short bursts of no more than 30seconds. Continue to do so until the flowers are completely pressed and then put the same back inside the book and add another on top to add extra weight. Leave it for a few hours, and you should have wholly pressed flowers to use for your potpourri.
About Drying Flowers
When it comes to using dried flowers for potpourri needs, one can be spoilt for choice. You can choose from flowers like roses, hydrangeas, or rudbeckia is you are looking for a distinctive lingering smell. Hitting the right kind of combination is the key, and once you have it, use a tray and cover it with paper towels. Continue keeping the flowers in a place that’s not only warm but also airy until they are completely dry. Some people also use upside-down drying techniques by working with small bunches of flowers. Remember, not to over-dry the flower buds as it will only mar the smell of the flowers.
How to Mix Scents in a Potpourri
When you have your flowers dried completely, it’s time to combine the scents properly. Yes. You have guessed it right; it does call for working with scented oils and selecting the right kind of flowers that would add to the fragrance of the potpourri. In most cases, the flowers might not be enough to produce the intense aroma that you are looking for, and hence, it calls for blending of more than two-three different oils to give shape to a great end product. Oils that are floral based are known to emit a herbal or juicy and citrusy smell, which creates dominance for the whole area. The accent scent is one that sets the base right for a potpourri. Consider adding 5-6 drops of aroma oils for the accent scent from flowers that you wish to achieve. Soon after, close the pot with a lid or preferably keep it airtight in a glass container, for no less than 24 hours. When the time duration is over, sniff the mix. If you like the smell, well, then you have done it for yourself and can start pouring the potpourri across multiple containers to be used all around the house, primarily in smelly areas like bathrooms or long corridors.
On a reverse note, if you are not very pleased with the outcome, you can start the process yet again by resorting to using a combination of different oils and flowers all together. Any dry flowers or petals that form a part of your potpourri can feel a little brittle when the oils are poured in. Give it some time to dry, say for at least 2 hours at room temperature and voila! Your potpourri is ready!
If you want to save all that trouble, you might as well readymade dry flowers from dried flower suppliers like Global Dried Flowers-one of the most reputed manufacturers and wholesalers of dried flowers, from India.
