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Flowering Herbs
Container Gardening With Herbs for Potpourri
A container garden with herbs and flowers for potpourri is a simple way to get
children involved in gardening. Children love to help and this is a good way to introduce them to eventually creating their own container garden with vegetables and flowers.
Why do we want to grow something that smells good? We like fragrances and think anything that smells good must be clean. In the days before sanitation was utilized and understood, fresh air was considered dangerous. Potpourri was created out of wanting a clean fresh smell to override the stale and unwanted odors in Castles and cottages. It was soon discovered that the clean, fresh fragrance of flowers, herbs and spices had an ability to mask odors.
Here is a little history on the use and creation of potpourri. It is from the French which means ‘to rot' because a wet method for making potpourri was used but nowadays we use the dry method.
During the times of Castles and little cottages the housewife or maid made it their duty to make potpourris and fragrant bags. After a room was cleaned a jar with potpourri was placed and then stirred to allow the fragrance to fill the room. Bags of all sizes were filled with rose petals and lavender and placed in closets and linen presses. These were also placed on the backs of chairs. Herbs were tossed onto floors in Churches and hospitals to mask the room odors.
Individuals were proud of their ability to produce mixtures of herbs and flowers
into wonderful fragrances. Foreign countries grew the best herbs and were valued and expensive. Soon it was discovered that certain common garden plants could replace the foreign spices and herbs with similar sweet smelling perfume. Carnations that smelled like cloves and certain roses would smell of cinnamon and soon replaced the imported herbs and spices. Lemon verbena from Mexico to England in 1784 added a cool, fresh lemon odor.
It has never been easier for the home or apartment dweller to create a wonderful container garden for enjoyment. Select the herbs and flowers for the fragrances you want in your potpourri. A good combination of roses, thyme and lavender can produce a wonderful potpourri.
Chose containers based on the size of the plants and herbs. Any pot with good drainage holes will work. Cover the drainage holes with used dryer sheets and fill with a 50% mixture of compost and potting mix.
The container of flowers and herbs needs to be placed together according to watering and sun needs. Water when the soil starts to feel dry. A good way to arrange the containers is around a sitting area with at least six hours of sunlight.
Pick the flowers and herbs at the first bloom during the day when there is no moisture
on the leaves or petals. Tie into bunches by their stems and hang to dry. In a few weeks, test for dryness by crumbling the leaves and petals between your fingers. The petals and leaves should easily crumble and feel dry.
A base of dried rose petals will add volume to the recipe of any potpourri mix. This can be from a handful to a few cupfuls of the dried petals. Potpourris can be made with any combination of herbs, spices and flowers. There is no limit on the combinations that can be created.
To make a Simple Lavender potpourri:
1. 16 ounces dried lavender flowers.
2. 2 ounces sweet woodruff.
3. 1-1/2 ounce each moss and thyme.
4. 8 ounces slivered orange peel.
5. 4 ounces benzoin.
6. Several handfuls of other flowers such as cornflowers or violets.
7. 1/4 ounce clove and anise combined.
8. Mix and let season
Pour into sachets and jars and enjoy!
About the Author
Joanne, a former art teacher and fiber artist, recently moved back to the Pacific Northwest and loves to garden. She creates container gardens for easy access and to cope with the variable PNW weather. Having elderly parents and a son in a wheelchair has given her a perspective on the challenges facing gardeners with limited mobility. She discovered an answer by growing flowers, vegetables and herbs in containers. Anything can grow in containers and pots with the right size, potting mix and sunlight. However she is not limiting her gardens to container as she also grows many plants, flowers and fegetables in her garden area. Obviously Joanne has a passion for anything with roots! Check out her container gardening site for more info. http://easycontainergardeningtips.com
What kind of flowers, plants and herbs do you have the most luck growing from seed?
Oh, I'm just really talented at killing my plants, and I wanted to grow some things from seed this year. I was looking for some easy options that would be harder for me to kill.
Here are some of the plants that have worked great for me from seed, planting in the ground in zone 4.
Flowers:
Cosmos (all types)
Marigolds
Zinnias
Morning Glories
Sweet Alyssum ( especially white)
Nasturtiums
Sunflowers
Herbs:
Dill
Parsley
Cilantro
Garlic chives
Most herbs will grow OK from seed but I mostly buy plants so that they're bigger sooner.
Vegetables:
Beans
Peas
Cucumbers
Squash (esp. summer squash)
Lettuce (and many other greens)
Radishes
Onions grow easily from sets
I'm sure there are things I've forgotten to mention, and of course there's lots I haven't tried, but I hope this helps some. Just remember to keep your seed bed lightly and evenly moist until they have sprouted and are growing well. Seedlings have very little root systems and can't withstand much of a shock.
I do love growing seeds and watching these tiny things grow huge and beautiful. Good luck and have fun!
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