DIY Dried Flower Potpourri & Bath Soaks: An Old Tradition Made Simple

Before scented candles and plug-in air fresheners, there was potpourri — and the word itself tells you exactly what it originally was. It's a tradition worth reviving properly, not as a bowl of stale department-store filler, but as a genuinely fragrant, customizable way to use dried flower petals around the house or in the bath.

The French Origins of Potpourri

"Pot pourri" is French for "rotten pot," which sounds unappealing until you know the process: in 17th- and 18th-century France, partially dried flower petals were layered with salt in a covered crock and left to partially ferment for several weeks, a technique that actually preserved scent more effectively than fully drying petals from the start. The lid would be lifted whenever a room needed freshening. The version most people picture today — a decorative bowl of fully dried petals, spices, and dried citrus — is a gentler, less pungent descendant that became especially popular in Victorian England, where potpourri jars were a fixture of the well-appointed parlor.

How to Make Dried Flower Potpourri at Home

Our bulk box of dried flower petals, sold as a 25-cup set, is the easiest starting point: it's already dried and mixed, so there's no fermenting crock required. Toss the petals with a fixative like a tablespoon of orris root powder per cup of petals (this helps the scent last far longer), then add a few drops of an essential oil that complements the petals' natural tones — lavender, citrus, or clove all work well for a fall-leaning blend. Store the mix in a sealed jar for a week to let the scent settle, then display it in an open bowl or basket.

A Simple Bath Soak Recipe

The same petals make an easy bath soak: fill a muslin drawstring bag or a knotted square of cheesecloth with a half-cup of dried petals, a tablespoon of Epsom salt, and a few drops of oil, then drop the whole bag into a warm bath and let it steep like a tea bag. It scents the water without leaving petals clogging the drain, and the little bag can be reused two or three times before the scent fades.

Shop the bulk dried flower petal box to start your own batch.