Potpourri Basics

Do you love potpourri? As the scent of roses wafts on the breeze through the open door, it brings pleasure to your senses, uplifts your spirit and gives you tremendous pride in your gardening accomplishments.

A lover of this pleasing experience, you more than likely enjoy the same sensation inside your home. It is a wonderful way to utilize your blossoms to fill your home with the natural fragrance of flowers, herbs and spices.

In fact, most potpourri recipes utilize rose petals as one of, if not the main ingredient because many rose blooms are so wonderfully fragrant. In containers and sachets placed around your home, it gives the space a warm, inviting appeal.

Through the centuries, the rose has been revered for its beauty. Man’s love for the flower even integrated into symbolism. Early Christians identified the five petals of the rose with the five wounds of Christ, and later associated the flower with the Virgin Mary. It has been used in politics and even as a type of currency, implemented in bartering systems. Nations have used its image in its heraldry, art and literature. It is a symbol of love and passion, friendship, purity, gratitude, appreciation and desire. Time has honored the rose and it remains a favorite today. Beautiful, fragrant and majestic, it is immensely popular in gardens throughout the world.

In addition to man’s symbolic use, many practical uses have evolved, potpourri being just one. For example, rose oil and rose essential oil, are extractions from blossoms used in rose perfume. An expensive and luxurious item, it was only available to the rich and powerful in bygone eras.