Make your own festive potpourri

With the festive season just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start preparing your home. It’s not just about making visitors feel welcome, but also making the most of this time of year. Potpourri is great for making your home smell like the holidays and here are some great recipes everyone should try.

Apple and Spices

• Slice two or three apples and make sure that your slices are as thin as possible. The thicker they are, the longer they will take to dry.
• Place the slices on a baking tray and bake in your oven at 150 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Once dried and cooled, mx your apple slices with half a cup of red and pink carnation petals.
• Add a quarter cup of dried sweet woodruff leaves.
• Next, add 2 tablespoons of crumbled cinnamon, 1 ½ tablespoons of grated nutmeg, 1 tablespoon of whole cloves, and a tablespoon of orange peels (sliced julienne).
• Finish off by adding three drops of vanilla or cinnamon scented oil, tossing around, and store in a glass jar until you are ready to enjoy this fine scent. If you like, you can place half of the mixture in a ceramic bowl in your home and store the rest for another day.

Mulberries

• Combine three cups of rose petals and leaves with 1 cup of juniper berries, 1 cup of hibiscus flowers, ½ a cup of crushed bay leaves, ¼ cup of ground star anise, and 2 tablespoons of orris root.
• Add mulberry fragrance oil (about 15 drops) to this mixture and stir it all together so that the oil coats the entire batch of potpourri.
• Display in a clay or ceramic bowl and store any extra in glass jars.

Rose potpourri

Roses have the most recognisable scents of all flowers. Their strong petals also make them ideal for use in potpourri.

• Combine red, pink, and white rose petals for a colourful variety. You will need four cups of petals.
• Dry your petals out before making your potpourri.
• Once their texture resembles that of soft leather, layer your rose petals with half a teaspoon of non-iodized coarse sea salt.
• Place a plate on top to push the petals down and then cover with some tin foil.
• Allow to dry further and stir once a day for two weeks.
• When you notice the petals start to change colour, toss them together with 1 tablespoon of crussed cloves, 1 tablespoon cedar shavings, 1 cinnamon stick (crushed), 3 crushed bay leaves, 1 teaspoon nutmeg (fresh shaved), 1 teaspoon of lemon zest or extract, and 10 drops of rose oil.
• Place the mixture in a ceramic pot and cover with tin foil for four weeks.
• Once ready, you can display as much as you like and store the rest in glass jars.
• If your mixture is very dry at this point, you can add a few more drops of rose oil to liven it up a bit and add some fresh aroma.

These recipes are all really easy. Some take more time to prepare than others which is why it’s a good idea to start now!