Homemade Pine & Citrus Dry Potpourri

Previously I mentioned I obtained a free Christmas tree. I'm trying to decide how to dry and preserve the boughs. The tree isn't actually a pine, perhaps a spruce or fir. Today Gary gathered pinecones from our yard. Luckily, we have various sizes from small to medium. Since it rained recently, I plan to dry the cones in a low temperature oven for a while; any bugs would be dispatched in the process.

At the grocery store I purchased some lemons, oranges, and apples to dehydrate. I've had a dehydrator for quite some time and don't use it often enough. My thinking is the dehydrator will be less expensive to utilize than an oven since the oven is 220 and a dehydrator is 110. In the summer I can dry tomatoes and other vegetables on screens in the sun. I dry my herbs indoors on cookie sheets quite easily.

I have bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and other herbs suitable for potpourri. I have garden sage I need to harvest to add to the mix. Any natural absorbent material will be a suitable addition to the potpourri I am making. Gary also went to the local health food store and got some pine, cedar, and cinnamon essential oils.

Once everything is good and dry, I'll toss it all together, sprinkle some essential oil in the mix, and cover in an airtight container to meld all the fragrances. Later I'll package the potpourri in containers to give as gifts to neighbors and friends. Luckily for my budget, I have glass containers in the back of my cabinet and mason jars, so not much of an expenditure to give these as gifts other than time and care. Stay tuned for the finished product.