Potpourri of rose petals

Making potpourri is a lovely activity for children (and mothers) 

that tickles all of the senses.

The wonderful fragrance of the roses, the silky soft petals 

and the explosion of colours are irresistible.

For this potpourri I used the wonderful (but now withered) roses 

my man give me for Valentine's Day. 

They had such a wonderful scent and their colours where so beautiful, 

ranging from deep orange to yellow in the center.

Make sure you only use organically grown roses without pesticides!

First I cut the flower heads off the stems so that there were 

no more thorns on the roses.

All those flower heads, arranged on a tray, looked like an impressionist painting!

Then the fun part for my boy began. Plucking the petals carefully from the roses. 

He took his job very seriously and clearly enjoyed it.

The rose petals were spread on a towel
and placed in a warm spotin front of the radiator.

After an hour I rolled the towel with the petals carefully into a long roll
and placed it on top of the radiator and left it there for several hours
until the petals were all dried.

The potpourri can be placed in a bowl or basket or put into a muslin bag.

The scent of the potpourri depends on the savor of the roses.

After a while or if you have used non fragrant roses
you can add some drops of organic essential oil to the dried petals.

I use geranium essential oil because essential rose oil is too expensive
and geranium adds a lovely scent too.

Another idea is putting the plucked petals on a string
and hanging them in a warm spot to dry.
 This rose garland is also a wonderful table decoration. 

I wish you lots of roses!