Who doesn’t enjoy the glorious scents of potpourri gifts at work and in our home, which give us that little bit of luxury. Did you know that potpourri was once a necessity?

Potpourri was first created for use in castles. Originally, castles had small slits for windows to prevent arrows and rocks from entering. The narrow windows would trap in the damp air and create a very musty and unpleasant odor. Most castles would eventually begin to stink from the mildew and trapped air.

Castle dwellers started using heavily scented herbs to hide the horrible castle smell the perforated every room. It would become very hard to live in a castle after a while if they were not to do so. 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.

Typically, castles would have a room at the bottom that was used for creating 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. Many of these fragrances would have seasonal appeal and be used accordingly. Many of the mixing containers would sit for years before the smell would evolve and the creator would deem it ready.

 

Once the potpourri mixtures had attained the right scent, it would be sent to different parts of the castle, and to different rooms to be used as a pleasant aroma that masked the dingy smell of the castle itself. Occasional refreshing was needed to help the potpourri last for many years or even about a decade. Added alcohol was all that was needed to help the longevity of the potpourri because it aided in the evaporation of the scent into the air. To help elongate the scent, the potpourri container was usually capped at night.

Ever think about making your own potpourri or giving it as a gift? Well, then search for free potpourri gift catalogs or just potpourri catalogs.