Favorite potpourri blend

16 years ago

I would like to know if anyone has potpourri "recipes" that they would like to share. It doesn't necessarily need to be all herbs grown in the garden, since I like things like cinnamon and cloves, which I'll never grow in zone 4 :)

While I would love ideas for the kitchen, bath and living areas, what I'm really looking for is something in the bedroom. I'm just redecorating our master bedroom in a somewhat Victorian style. Think casual Victorian, if that's possible. I'm using rich colors, but mostly solid materials (no pattern except for a bit of damask) and I want something that would be appropriate for the room. If I go over the top, my husband wouldn't be comfortable, so it's fairly masculine, except for some accent fabrics and accessories.

Does anyone have an old recipe that might reflect the Victorian country home? I would love to put something a bit "romantic" in a cut crystal bowl. Roses are great, but I'm open to suggestions :)

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Comments (4)

fatamorgana2121
16 years ago
When I think Victorian, I think roses, violets, and lavender.

As long as it is natural scents that are not overpowering and overdone, I do not think your husband would be uncomfortable with the fragrance. Although I seem to recall reading once that one of the most popular fragrances with men was vanilla. It's a wonderful scent too.

Be sure to ask this on the Herbs forum as well. I'm sure you'll get a lot of suggestions from people who don't read this forum, which focuses mainly on the medicinal use of herbs.

FataMorgana
lavender_lass
Original Author
16 years ago
FataMorgana- Thanks for the suggestion. I think roses, lavender and violets are a wonderful choice. Vanilla sounds interesting too.
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herbalbetty
16 years ago
Here's a recipe from Barbara Milo Ohrbach's book, "The Scented Room", which I have made dozens of times. Men seem to like this as much as women.
5 oz lavender flowers
2 oz blue malva flowers
1 oz cornflowers (I often use larkspur)
3 oz whole cloves
1 oz cinnamon sticks, broken
1 oz cassia chips
1/2 oz powdered allspice
1/2 oz powdered cinnamon
1 oz powdered orrisroot
15 drops lavender oil

She also has a recipe called, "Cherchez's Old English Rose Potpourri" which is my favorite. Get her book from the library. It was printed in 1986
lavender_lass
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you Herbalbetty. I love that there are "recipes" I can follow. The Old English Rose Potpourri sounds wonderful. What roses do you use?