Display your pot-pourri in a decorative container or use it to perfume sachets, cushions and linen. Soap, stationery, greeting cards and drawer liners can also be perfumed by storing pot-pourri with them. A mixture exposed directly to the atmosphere may maintain its scent for up to six months, a sachet may last for twice that time.

Flower fragrances can be captured by pot-pourri - a sweet-smelling blend of preserved flower petals and other aromatic plant parts. There are two types of pot-pourri: dry and moist. Dry pot-pourri is easier to make and more decorative, since it preserves the form and colour of the flowers. Moist pot-pourri darkens colour but creates a stronger fragrance.

Dry pot-pourri
Air-dried flower heads, petals, leaves, wood, bark or fruit form the bulk of the mixture and set the theme for a dried pot-pourri. Air-dried herbs such as thyme, mint and rosemary add interest to the dominant perfume. Spices such as all-spice, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla beans contribute fragrance and texture. Fixatives retain the scents of the other ingredients over longer periods of time. If fixatives are not used, the pot-pourri will lose its perfume quickly. The most common fixatives are gum benzoin and orris root. Essential oils found in perfumed flowers, leaves, roots and seeds give pot-pourri its strong perfume.

Combine ground spices, fixatives and essential oils in a mixing bowl. You may need to rub the dry ingredients between your fingers with the oil to get them to mix. Add the remaining dry ingredients - the flowers, petals, leaves and herbs - and mix well. Place the mixture in an airtight container and leave in a dark place for at least six weeks, to allow the mixture to mature. Shake the container every day for the first week. After six weeks, the pot-pourri is ready for use.

Moist Pot-pourri
Collect petals and let them dry until they are leathery - about two to three days. Fill a wide-mouthed crock or a glass-lidded storage jar (do not use a metal container) with alternating layers of petals and non-iodised salt. When two-thirds full, place an even weight plate on top of the petals to compress them. Stir the pot every few days, breaking up any crust that forms on the top. After a minimum of two weeks (the longer the pot-pourri is left standing, the stronger and more lasting the fragrance will be), mix the petals thoroughly and add spices, roots and aromatic and fixative oils. (The choice of additives - apart from the fixatives - depends on the pot-pourri's basic scent and your taste; experiment with different combinations.)
Mix again and allow to mature for another two weeks. The scent will be a little raw at first but should soon mellow.

Pot-pourri Ideas

Simple floral pot-pourri
4 cups rose petals
4 cups rose geranium leaves
2 cups lavender leaves
1 cup rosemary leaves
2 tablespoonfuls each of ground cloves, connamon and allspice
3 tablespoonsuls crushed orris root and powdered gum benzoin
20 drops rose oil
Mix and store as described for dry pot pourri.

Australian native plant pot-pourri
1 cup dried wattle blossom
1 cup dried assorted yellow flowers(for example, cassia, kangaroo paw, yellow boronia)
1 cup dried juniper flowers
2 cups dried eucalyptus leaves
1 cup dried rosemary leaves
2 cups casuarina cones, gum nuts and bottle brush seed pods
1 cup dried orange peel
1/2 cup crushed coriander seeds
1/2 cup moss
3 tablespoonfuls of crushed orris root and powdered gum benzoin
3 drops lime oil
2 drops eucalyptus oil
Mix and store as described for dry pot-pourri
Decorate with everlasting daisies.

New Zealand native plant pot-pourri
2 cups red rose petals
1 cup lemon verbena leaves
1 cup tarata leaves
2 cups manuka/kanuka leaves
2 tablespoonfuls of orris root
10 drops each rose and lemon oils
Silver fern curls and autumn kauri leaves for decoration.
Mix and store as for dry pot-pourri.

Attractive bowls or open glass jars are traditional for dry pot-pourri; for moist pot-pourri use china jars with pierced lids. When the scent starts to fade refresh the misture by mixing in a few drops of essential oil.

Extractions: scent in a bottle

Genuine flower perfume is always expensive to buy, but there are two economical methods of extracting the scent of flowers: enfleurage and maceration.

Enfleurage Pour about a litre of olive oil (at room temperature; the oil may be heated but should never be too hot to touch) into a medium-sized baking dish. Infuse your plant material. Strain the oil when the flowers and petals fade and infuse a fresh batch. Continue this process until the oil is saturated with perfume. Store the new oil concentrate in airtight bottles or jars. Dispense the oil with an eyedropper.

Maceration Fill a medium-sized baking dish with boiling water. Fill a smaller, similar container with oilive oil at room temperature and place it in the larger dish. Ensure that no water gets into the dish containing the oil. Place the plant material in the oil. As the smaller dish absorbs heat from the surrounding water the oil will warm up and gradually draw the perfumes from the material over a period of several hours. When the material is exhausted, strain off the oil and repeat the process with fresh plant material to increase the concentration. Once again, continue this process until the oil is saturated with perfume. As with the previous process, store the oil concentrate in airtight bottles or jars and dispense with an eyedropper.

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