Decorating with Potpourri

Decorating with potpourri can be as simple as shopping for a blend and a container and placing them in a spot where you can enjoy them, or as elaborate as growing your own potpourri garden, harvesting the flower petals, drying them yourself and mixing them with dried objects from nature to create an artistic mélange. Potpourri brings both seasonal aromas and the visual beauty of dried natural objects into your home.

Making Potpourri

Decide what scent profile you want to create, or explore existing options at retail outlets. Springtime mixes can include rose petals and thyme. French country mixes might include lavender or sage. A woodsy winter mix mingles rosemary and almond oil; a clean, soothing blend incorporates eucalyptus leaves. Holiday blends can be evocative with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Orange peel adds a warm note to many blends.

You can collect dried natural materials such as seedpods and flower heads and mix them with the fragrant dried herb and spice mix if you want the potpourri to be more visually interesting. Add drops of essential oils to intensify the aroma.

Displaying Potpourri

Decide how you want to display the potpourri. Select a hand-woven basket made of pine needles for a sweet but elegant wintry mix in a bathroom. Choose ceramics with a red glaze for holiday potpourri. Always choose open bowls or containers with holes near the top and on the lid so that you can enjoy the fragrance. Sachets make great choices for dresser drawers -- try placing these small, scented pillows in a guest bedroom for a welcoming surprise, or use them as parting gifts for guests at a wedding. Mason jars are a classic option that allows you to contemplate how beautiful, humble ingredients such as rosebuds and cloves can perfume a room as they set in the sunlight on a living room windowsill.