Plant your garden with Flowers that may be dried for your potpourris (such as Marigolds). Collect Flowers from bouquets or remains of dried arrangements. You may also like to purchase fresh Flowers - which you may hang upside down in bundles to dry. You may also purchase dried petals or roses (the most beautiful Flower for potpourri) from florists who deal in bulk Flowers. Use whole buds to decorate the tops of the containers holding your potpourri.
Dried scented plant material has been used in rooms since ancient times, in a variety of ways, including just scattering them on floors. In early 17th Century France fresh herbs and flowers were gathered—starting in spring and continuing throughout the summer. The herbs were left for a day or two to become limp, then layered with coarse sea salt. The aging mixture was stirred occasionally as layers were added to it. Often the mixture would ferment or even mold as the summer went by. In fall, spices would be added to the unsightly grey mix until a pleasant fragrance was achieved, then scent preserving fixatives (see below) were added. The finished potpourri was set out in special pots with perforated lids to perfume rooms.
Much modern potpourri consists of any decoratively shaped dried plant material (not necessarily from scented plants) with strong natural and synthetic perfumes (and also often colored dyes) added, with the scent often bearing no relation to the plant material used. Sometimes, items that do not originate from plants are mixed in with the potpourri, to give it bulk and to make it more aesthetically pleasing. It is possible to spray scents onto potpourri, however a fixative is needed so that the scent is absorbed for slow release. Generally, orris root is used for this purpose.