Potpourri and sachet ingredients can be found in your own garden, purchased from craft supply stores, or even ordered online--including essential oils. These enhance the natural aroma of your ingredients and provide a longer lasting fragrance to your potpourri than if it you just used natural ingredients alone. There are hundreds of choices for what kinds of stuff you can use in potpourri. A good strategy to "inventing" a potpourri is to first choose a primary scent that is to your liking, then select fillers based on their color, texture, and complimentary fragrances to your primary scent. A few additional tips:

Use whole spices, not crushed or ground. Ground spices quickly settle to the bottom of the container and lose their fragrance due to the high amount of surface area exposed to the air.

If you are taking cuttings from your garden, harvest your ingredients when they are at their best, usually in the summer when natural oils are at their peak. Harvest fragrant flowers for drying in the morning, after the dew has dried. Cut the stems well below the blossoms, just as the buds are beginning to open, and tie the stems into small bunches with string or elastic bands. Use only flower parts for sachets, reserving aromatic stems for other uses (burn stems individually as incense sticks, tie them into bundles and throw them on the embers of a fire or add cut stem pieces to potpourri). Inspect your cuttings carefully and remove anything that looks dead or in the process of decaying. These contain fungi and bacteria that you definitely don't want as part of your potpourri!

Dry herbs and flowers by using a dehydrator, or by hanging out of direct sunlight in a warm, dry room, with good air circulation. Keeping herbs and flowers separate ensures that distinct aromas stay separate as well. (Blending aromas should be a choice--not an accident, although no doubt some random discoveries of interesting combos have been made this way as well!) Blossoms can be left whole or the petals can be separated, but whole blossoms are a nice touch added on top of a potpourri display. Other dried items, such as citrus slices or some pretty pebbles can also enhance your display, as will choosing a decorative dish that compliments the colors and theme of your potpourri mix.

Basic Potpourri Recipe

Potpourri & Sachets: Suggested Ingredient Combinations

Herbal Crafting: Order Craft Supplies