Turn Your Bouquet Into Potpourri and Make Your Memories Last

Receiving a bouquet of flowers for your birthday or for any special occasion gives you a wonderful feeling. It makes you feel loved and appreciated by the person or persons who gave you the bouquet.

As beautiful as the flowers are, they don’t last forever. A quality Florist will have blooms that last 7 days or more with proper after care from the  recipient. Once they have expired there is a way to make the flowers last just a little bit longer and keep the memories that they evoke alive for the time being. Before you chuck your bouquet, why not try making potpourri out of it?

Potpourris comprise of fragrant plant parts that have been dried naturally, usually under the sun. Plant parts such as flower petals and flower buds are some of the best things to use for potpourris. Other things that work best as potpourri include barks as in the case of cinnamon and peels as in the case of oranges and lemons.

What makes potpourri great is that it makes a room smell nice naturally. You also don’t need to constantly spray around the room the way you would with aerosol based chemical fresheners. They gradually release their scent, so your room smells fresh for days. That great smell can last anywhere from 2 weeks to a month. Once the scent smells a bit faint, you can revive it by putting similar scented essential oils into the potpourri.

If you are ready to create your potpourri out of your bouquet of flowers, here’s a step-by-step process that you can follow:

The quick way to create potpourri from your bouquet is to bake the flower parts. Baking flowers means that you don’t have to wait for days before they completely dry up so you can start freshening up your room.

Remove all the flower heads or buds from the stems. Don’t worry if the petals start falling off. Spread them out in a tin cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Take 15-20 drops of lavender essential oil or similar oil as the flowers i.e. if they’re roses, add rose oils, etc. Place the oils inside a spray bottle with about ½ cup of water and spray the mixture on the flowers.

Let the mix sit for a few minutes then pop the tray into the oven. Bake the potpourri for about two hours. The result should be dry petals or flower buds that don’t crumble to the touch. Keep the heat in low setting so as not to make the flowers brittle and burnt.

Take it out of your oven and spray the flower mix again with the oil and water combination. Let the mix of flower pieces cool to room temperature and then place them in a bowl. A nice decorative bowl or a minimalist style white bowl that you don’t use for eating anymore will do. Mix the flowers using your hands or a spatula that you are no longer using for cooking to release the scent and let the smell permeate the room.

You can also place the potpourri in a small sachet made from sheer fabric. You can either make them yourself or buy them from a local craft store or online. Placing the potpourris in the sachet allows you to put them in closets, cabinets, and other smaller places you want to keep smelling fresh. They also work great as gifts for friends and family.

One the scent has dissipated, you can refresh up your potpourri by placing a few drops of oil in the bowl or sachet of potpourri.

Making your bouquet into potpourri is a great way to keep your flowers for longer. It’s also a great way to remember the good memories associated with the giver of the bouquet or the event when you received the bouquet. Use this recipe to make potpourri out of the flowers that you receive and keep the great memories alive. For more great ideas about flowers, arrangements, and how to preserve flowers visit the Fiesta Flowers Plants & Gifts blog.

Fiesta Flowers Plants & Gifts
744 W Elliot Rd #103
Tempe, AZ 85284
(480) 777-0060