Herbal Scents: Recipes for Sachets and Potpourri's
Posted: Friday, August 13, 2010
by Dr. Carla Goddard
Part of the delight of sachets and potpourris is making and blending them and finding scent
s that allow you to create your own special fragrance. These are a few of my personal favorites.
When you begin to experiment with different herbs and balancing them, the one step you need to remember that is of vital importance is to mix the dry ingredients first and then add essential oils. Every recipe needs to have a fixative to hold the fragrance, especially if storing. Orris root is the common base fixture of these recipes. To any recipe, essential oil can be used to enhance or change a fragrance slightly.
Ensure you make a journal entry of the combinations you are trying, in order to keep the likes and dislikes separate. The following recipes are base recipes using common florals. Try creating your own blend by drying out the herbs that are favorites in in your garden. Potpourri's and sachets are great gifts for teachers, for thank you's and even for baby or bridal shower gifts.
One if my favorite base recipe is spicy basil. Basil has a delightful spicy aroma, however, each of the types of basil has a slightly different scents.
Basil Spice
Equal parts: licorice basil, sweel basil, and fine leaf basil.
2 cups each: apple gernium leaves, nutmeg leaves, patchouli
1 cup each: thyme, lemon eucalyptus, sage
If you are looking for a summer harvest:
Summer fragrance
one cup each rose petals, lavender, lemon verbena, mint (any of the varieties)
Mommy's perfume
2 quarts rose petals
1 cup blue bachelor's buttons
2 cups patchouli
3 tablespoons orris root
5 drops oil gardenia
Daddy's cologne
2 cups lemon balm
1 cup each thyme and nutmeg
2 tablespoons orris root
Italian Kitchen
2 cups thyme
1 cup each rosemary and mint
1/2 cup lavender
1/4 tansy and clove
2 tablespoons of orris root
Tropical Scents
2 quarts lemon balm, lemon thyme and orange peel
1 quart hibiscus leaves
1/2 jasmine
2 tablespoons orris root
Oriental Escape
1 quart frankincense and myrrh
2 cups patchouli
1 cup sandlewood
2 tablespoons orris root
Floral garden
1 cup geranium
1 cup lavender
1 cup rose peta
1 cup lily of valley
2 tablespoons orris root
Forest Walk
one quart bayberry, marjoram, pine needles and thyme
1 cup lavender cotton, chamomile
2 tablespoons orris root
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