Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Scented plants, only the nose knows!, 1 by Gitagal

Gitagal wrote:
Happy,

I do not pick anything in their "prime", but when a rose is done, and just before the petals would fall down, I take the bloom in my hand and they all just come off. NO picking!
Same for peonies.
There are SO many plants you can dry that will keep their color! That is important! And lots of leaves too--like Coleus, purple whatevers, seed pods--like Columbines (after you shake the seeds out), Rose Campion seed pods too. Dusty Miller is great! I cut up the whiter tops of the growth in the Fall. it dries just like it is.
I remove spent blooms from X-Mas cactus--they stay the color too. I even tear in pieces Brug blooms when they wilt--they stay exactly the color they are. I take apart Hydrangea bloom clusters, cut small clusters of Ageratum and Heliotrope, the list is endless. But, as I make these sachets--I can tell you what every petal is!
Just experiment!

Flowers that DO NOT dry are those that have a high water content in the blooms--like begonias, Impatiens, etc....
I grow Strawflowers and Gomphrenas just for my dried petals mix.

I have huge, shallow wicker trays. That is what I use to dry them...naturally. Even a shallow (beer type) cardboard box will work too.
In the Summer, if it is not too humid, petals can dry in 3-4 days outside. Mix them occasionally. Otherwise, I bring them inside. They have a very nice, gentle scent just as they are--but I buy Potpourri Oil and use a bamboo skewer to dip it in the oil and then poke it all through the finished sachet and keep them in a plastic baggie to keep the scent.
Get the real oil--NOT the scented oils they use for air freshening.

Hart--What on earth is Orris Root? Never heard of it! Thanks for mentioning Scented geraniums! I have not grown those for ages! They DO smell good as well as leaves of herbs....
Glad to hear you have done this too. We are 2 peas in a pod in several ways....:o)

Today--I decided to spend all day making these things. Cut up the curtain in the picture on the table and used rolls of Bridal Tull and criss-crossed them over the lace squares. This really helps keeping the small bits in. I made 45 sachets today and scented 30 of them with 3 different oils.
Tomorrow I will take the done ones to that Senior Craft Gallery and see what they want to keep. I bet they will say--OH! I'll take 6 of each! ....if I am lucky! I really need to find a better outlet for my stuff if I would ever get serious about this.
I could try DG Marketplace--but i really do not want to mess with packaging and mailing stuff. That can be a pain you know where!

So--today was spent fruitfully! Gita

Remember this picture???? I did this before I cut up all these Sun Coleus leaves for drying....They were just too colorful not to immortalize them--somehow.....