Make a Natural Holiday Simmering Potpourri for Yourself or as a Gift

Do you remember making Cloved oranges as a kid? We poked cloves into fresh oranges  - usually in pretty designs but they are OK just where ever you want them as long as you put quite a few cloves. I did them and allowed the oranges to dry. They actually lasted quite a while in a pretty bowl. I arranged them above with pine cones and Fresh Rosemary.

Natural Potpourri Simmer

 Using the same idea, you can peel an orange (eat the orange or use it for juice), Dry the peel. I dried mine in the oven set on it's lowest setting. Check them often to be sure they don't burn. Break the orange peels in to small pieces, add  whole cloves, cinnamon stick pieces, whole allspice, dried apple slices and berries from a cedar tree. This last one is optional but it makes a really festive holiday fragrance. If you live near a woods where cedar grows the female trees are loaded with blue berries in the fall! . To make the house smell like Christmas simmer a couple tablespoons of the mix in a small pan of water on the stove Be sure to check often so it doesn't boil dry. I wonder if you can still find those potpourri simmering pots like I had several years ago. Not only does this smell delicious but will add humidity to the house and the essential oils are good to breath too. Package this up in little jelly jars or small bags for a nice little gift also.

Make Bath Salts from Your Rose Petals

 

 

 

May and June are the months that our roses are at their peak of bloom. I always hate to see all those beautiful fragrant petals go to waste. How timely it was for me to receive this recipe for Rose petal bath salts in the mail today. I'll pass it along to you as well as my recipe for rose petal potpourri.

 

For bath salts you will need to mix  1/2 cup each Epsom Salt and sea salt with one tablespoon rose petals (or more if you like) and two drops of rose oil or lavender oil - optional but it will smell yummy. Add all this to a big tub of warm water for a relaxing soak. I'm going to make four times this recipe and store in a container. That way I'll have plenty for long tub soaks after a day of working in the garden. 

Rose and Lavender Potpourri

For a pretty as well as fragrant potpourri, use two cups dried rose petals, 2 cups dried lavender (leaves and flowers) and one tablespoon Orris Root powder. The Orris Root fixes the fragrance so it doesn't fade away as quickly. Mix all ingredients together in a glass or stainless steel bowl and store for a few days in a container with a tight fitting lid until all fragrances are blended. Put into a pretty bowl or make little sheer bags of it to place in closets or give to friends, Hint: dry your rose petals and lavender together in an open container to blend the fragrance even more.