Potpourri Originates From Castle Stench

Who doesn’t enjoy the glorious scents of potpourri gifts at work and in our home, which give us that little bit of luxury. Were you aware that it was once necessary?

Potpourri came about from and were created in castles. Castles were originally designed with small windows in order to prevent objects, like arrows and stones, from entering into the castle. The narrow windows would trap in the damp air and create a very musty and unpleasant odor. Eventually the castles would develop a musky stench.

Castle inhabitants began to place herbs throughout the rooms so they would have a nice smell in each and every room. Were they to not do so, then the castle would begin to smell horrible and make living in one very tough. The inhabitants constantly had to clean up the potpourri because the oils would evaporate and the herbs would begin to rot and add to the bad smells.

Usually, castles had a room in the bottom that was used to create potpourri. Herbs and spices were combined with brandy in these really large rooms which usually contained mixing containers. The mixtures would usually give off a very wonderful scent. Seasonal demand for certain fragrances was extremely common. There were many fragrances that took years to a decade to age before they were ready to be used.

To cover up the nasty smell of the castle, many rooms and locations were selected to have the appropriately created potpourri deposited. Occasional refreshing was needed to help the potpourri last for many years or even about a decade. To refresh the potpourri, all that needed to be done was to add some alcohol to aid in the evaporation of the aroma to the air. At night, the potpourri containers would be capped to help preserve the aromas.

If you are interested in making potpourri, then search for free potpourri gift catalogs or just potpourri catalogs.