Of all the senses that we possess, smell is the one most closely connected with memory. Nothing else can evoke such strong impressions of days passed – of holiday festivities we’ve loved and long to experience again, for example – as the fragrant scents that we associate with them. Creating a home full of fragrance, then, can be a means of immortalizing the season in your mind. One of the best and easiest ways to bring the scents of the season into your home – and the homes of those you love – is with handmade winter potpourri.
Though the literal meaning of potpourri is “a mixture of many ingredients”, we generally use the word to refer to a mixture of flowers, herbs, essential oils, and perhaps fruits, berries, spices and cones that are blended together to perfume the air with a gentle, natural scent. The craft of making such natural perfumes has probably been around for as long as we humans have been picking flowers. Who among us can improve upon nature’s aromas?
Winter preserves, for many of us, fresh greens like balsam, juniper, cedar and boxwood, all of which smell like the spirit of the season. Greens can be cut, tied in small bunches, and hung upside down in a warm, dark place to dry. Wait until they feel crisp to the touch, and then store them in jars until you’re ready to use them in your blend. One of the goals of this mixture will be to create a balanced perfume from several aromas, so choose your greens according to what scents will appeal to you and harmonize with each other as well.
Essential oils can be used to complement and/or strengthen the fragrance of flowers and greens. Genuine essential oils are steam distilled and extracted from blossoms, leaves, stems, and rootstock (be wary of synthetic oils and essences, which do not have their origins in plant material at all). These natural essences can be rather expensive; but as only a small amount is needed to greatly enhance your potpourri, the price paid may be well worth it. Some essential oils that blend well with the woodsy scent of Christmas greens include frankincense, juniper berry, nutmeg, sandalwood, bay, birch, and myrrh.
Ground cinnamon or cloves can hold the essential oils and also help to distribute them evenly throughout the blend. A ¼ cup mixture of the two will be fit for about thirty drops of oil. Combine these ingredients in a large glass jar or earthenware crock, cover tightly, and let them settle together for 2 or 3 days before pouring in what flowers (red roses might work well, as a visual as well as aromatic complement) and greens you’ve selected and dried. You can then add texture and more eye-catching appeal to your potpourri with nuts, pinecones, dried berries, vines and fruits like cranberry, orange and pomegranate; perhaps some gold ribbon and jingling bells, for good measure.
Then you’ll be ready for a festive winter that your nose may keep reminding you of for decades to come.
