Southern
California is blessed with a climate that’s perfect for plants with scented
foliage. Our native sages (Salvias), mints, roses, California
Sagebrush and other Artemisias make
our gardens a treat for the nose as well as the eye. Add scented plants from other mediterranean
climates – rosemary, thyme, lavender and others – and you’ve got a nice
smelling garden. Consider a plant’s
aroma when choosing new plants for your garden.
You’ll be glad you did!
Fall
is the best time to prune many scented plants; and pruning can produce lots of trimmings, even in a small
garden. Consider using your scented
trimmings for garden crafts that produce products unique to your garden. One of the easiest – and fun - is making
potpourri. It’s a good activity to do
with children (in small groups). You
might even want to host a ‘potpourri party’, where guests bring scented
materials from their gardens to share.
Making potpourri brings out the creative side in all of us.
A
potpourri is simply a mixture of
scented plant materials. Most people
think of natural room fresheners when they hear the word potpourri. But people in times past – and thrifty
gardeners now – use potpourri for much more.
Fill a small cloth bag with potpourri to make a sachet to scent a closet
or clothes drawer. Use a pretty fabric,
tie the sachet with a ribbon and you’ve got a unique, inexpensive gift. A cloth bag filled with potpourri can also be
used to scent a bath or shower (just hang the bag under the running water). You can use a cloth re-useable tea bag to hold
the potpourri. Potpourri can even be
used under your pillowcase to scent your pillow. Use a soothing sage, lavender or mint for a
restful sleep
Making
potpourri is easy. But like anything
involving scent, it allows lots of room for creative expression. No two people smell a scent exactly the
same. We all have memories associated
with particular scents. And some scents
just make us feel relaxed or energized. So
have fun combining scents to get just the right combination.
Here’s
how to make your own unique blend of garden potpourri:
- Choose your plant materials. A number of plant materials that can be
used as a base for potpourri. Choose any scented plant you like as
long as it is not toxic. Here are a few possibilities:
- Native
plants (leaves/stems):
Sages (Salvias) all have
slightly different scents (we particularly like Black, Purple, Cleveland
and ‘Winifred Gilman’ Sages) ; California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica) and Mugwort (Artemisia douglasii); plants in the Mint family (Wild Mint – Mentha arvensis; Hummingbird Sage
- Salvia spathacea; Fragrant
Pitchersage -Lepechinia fragrans)
- Other
scented shrubs/herbs:
Leaves/stems of Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon Verbena, Lavender, scented
Geraniums, Mints, etc.; flowers like scented Rose petals, Carnations, Orange
blossoms, etc.
- Citrus
fruits or apples:
use thinly sliced citrus peel, or cut entire fruit in very thin slices
before drying
- Dry the plant materials. It’s very important that plant materials
are completely dry, otherwise the potpourri may mildew. Lay larger materials out to dry
outdoors. Turn them every few days
until they are dry. Or bundle the
stems, tie and hang up to dry on a patio or porch. Flowers, apple and citrus slices can be
sun dried, dried on cookie sheets in a warm (less than 130°F) oven or
dried in a food dehydrator. Check flowers
often – they can dry quickly.
- Prepare the plant materials. Wearing leather gloves, strip leaves
off woody stems of Salvias and shrubby Mediterranean herbs. Place each
type of material in a separate plastic bag, seal & label with plant
name and date. For California
Sagebrush, it’s easiest to just cut the ends of stems into pieces. Other
materials need no additional preparation after drying. The leaves simply drop off some dried
materials. Dried flowers and fruits
are ready to be bagged as is. It’s
important to bag your materials as soon as they are dry to retain their
fragrance.
- Choose a primary scent: Now the real fun begins. Making a good potpourri is a bit like
making a perfume. You begin by
choosing your primary scent. This
should be an aroma that you really enjoy.
It can be a strong/spicy scent (native California and Mediterranean
herbs) or something more mild, but with a fairly strong scent: rose
petals, mint, and other garden herbs.
This is going to be the primary scent for your potpourri, so take a
good handful or two and place it in a plastic bag. We suggest that you write down the names of your
ingredients on a piece of paper.
You may even want to weigh/measure
your ingredients so you can duplicate your ‘signature potpourri’ in
the future.
- Choose 1 to 2 secondary
scents: The secondary scents should
complement your primary scent. If your primary scent is mild,
choose mild secondaries so you don’t overpower the primary scent. Some good secondaries include any of the
primaries (in smaller amounts), the dried fruits, dried flowers, mints and
perennial garden herbs. If you have
scented oils or single-scent perfumes (lavender; rose; gardenia; etc.) you
can also use these as secondary scents.
Just place a little bit on a cotton ball or cotton pad – a little
goes a long way – and place it in your bag of potpourri. Remember to write
the materials on your ‘ingredients list’.
- Close the potpourri bag, shake
it well, and let it sit for a half hour or more. This will let the flavors mingle.
- Open the bag and smell your
potpourri. You may decide that your potpourri is
just right. If so, it’s ready to
use – and you can create another blend.
If you decide that your potpourri still needs a little something,
smell the secondary scents again; one or more of them may be just what you
need. You can also use a little bit
of dried spices from your kitchen cupboard. You can add up to 4 additional
(tertiary) scents.
- Once you’re happy with your
blend, it’s ready to use.
Don’t
be afraid to experiment – sometimes unusual combinations are the most
successful. If you end up with a truly
awful combination, just throw it in the compost bin and try again.
_____________________________________
We
welcome your comments, below. If you
have questions, please e- mail us at: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com
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