Homemade Perfume from Flowers and Herbs from my Garden

Have you ever wanted to create your own perfumes or stylized scents?

 I have. And I've always loved the aromas of flowers cut fresh from my garden.  Hyacinths in the spring are hard to beat. With their sweet and spicy scents that are overpoweringly pungent - you'll have to love or hate them.

And the wild hyacinths grow like weeds around here. I just love the pretty blue bells. But lilacs are my favorite with their sweet floral notes and soft hints of vanilla. So of course, I have  them all in my garden. And, I thought why not make my own liquid floral scents?

Here's how to do it:

1.  Picking blossoms for perfume is just like picking grapes for wine or berries for jam, pick them early in the morning when the oils, flavors and juices are at their peak of perfection. Blooms just getting ready to open hold  the richest most powerful fragrance. Blossoms that have already bloomed are already losing their aroma.
2. Pick the petals from the flowers and put them in a zip-lock storage bag then lightly tamp the petals with a rubber mallet to stimulate the petals, which will make them release their oils.
3.  Put the petals in a mason  jar and cover with oil. You can use any oil (including olive) but you might prefer the sweet nutty aroma of almond oil mixing with the floral scents. Shake the jar to mix the oil around.
4.  Put the jar in a sunny spot to give the petals plenty of time to soak in the oil--24 hours is best. Then shake  the contents gently and strain the petals with cheesecloth. Toss the old petals, unless you want to let them dryout in a cool, dark location.
5. Pick  new petals and follow the  procedures above--only cover the petals with the previously used oil. Repeat  this procedure for 3-5 days or until you've achieved the fragrance you enjoy.
6. Keep your mason jar filled with  oil in a  cool, dry location. Feel free to use your freshly created fragrance as a perfume.

And, if you make  some perfume of your own, please tell me about it. I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.  Kim

SATURDAY SUSTAINABILITY - Go Outside and Play

Erin Simons, the green team leader at adidas in Portland, invited me to come talk about Sustainability and why I blog about it.

I gave a few tips/hints/and EZ examples that anyone could do. I also showed a few examples that savvy sustainability enthusiasts might be interested in undertaking: like Roof Garden construction.

We all want to be super-sustainers but I try to be realistic too. Like when I’m recommending that parents use cloth diapers, I know it’s not the easiest option so I try to include some alternative green theme ideas. For example, parents can take a cloth diaper and fold it over three ways lengthwise so that it will fit in the center of a disposable diaper. By using cloth inside the plastic panty, you will double the effectiveness – at least you can use this option at night – it will cut your nighttime diaper usage in half and be even more convenient. No need to get up in the middle of the night to change the baby.

My theme is: “If we all do a little, it will do a lot.”

The green team at adidas has already been working on the global green-theme. They discourage the use of plastic utensils or dishware in their company cafes. They encourage sustainability with their staff. And they promote one of the all-time greenest pastimes: SPORTS. There’s almost nothing as green as getting outside and enjoying a good hike, run, or swim. We can have fun without creating waste. And, by “playing” a sport, you’ll be burning calories without creating heaps of waste in the world.

So, get out and enjoy your summer the sustainable way and remember IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING!