“Do peonies retain their odor when dried?”
Not that you’d notice, but they make great ‘filler’ for potpourri. The darker colors look nicer when dried. The white petals seem to just turn brown/tan. They are one of my favorite flowers! I have 14 of them. :) Have you found a good lotion or oil that captures their scent? I haven’t. :(
By ‘Elder Flower’ do you mean the blooms of the common Elderberry? That sounds interesting.
I’ve made a rose petal cordial. When you drink it, you feel as if your whole head is filled with roses, LOL! I’ve also added rose petals to a bottle of vodka, then thrown it into the freezer for summer sippin’ on ice.
(Your own untreated rose petals, of course!)
No, I don’t have a good carrier oil for any natural petal scent. I don’t think it would be a case of what oil, as much as what fixative. Maybe Orris Root powder for the potpourri? I will try that. Orris has its own, slightly sweet scent, IIRC. It has been awhile since I played with scents.
Yes, the big umbrella-like white blooms. Pick, clip _just_ the tiny blooms until you have 4c packed. Meanwhile, mix 5# sugar with 3 liters water, the zest and juice of 4-6 lemons (depends on size; the original recipe, online, calls for 10# sugar and 12-14 lemons). Just warm the water/sugar/lemon juice and zest until sugar dissolves. Add the elder flowers. Place something (I use the top of my dehydrator) over the pot of flowers and cover with a clean flour sack dish towel. If you don’t use some sort of domed cover, the liquid could wick into the towel. Let sit undisturbed (you can go and take periodic whiffs...it is heavenly)up to four days. Strain the flowers and zest out of the liquid. Boil 20-30 minutes, skimming as it boils. Prepare jars or other containers with good tight lids by pouring boiling water over them and let them dry in the oven at 250. Remove cordial from heat and ladle into jars/containers. Has so far kept well in the fridge. I had a tad bit of mold in one jar out of 2 gallons total (I do a gallon at a time). I skimmed out the bit of mold, boiled the contents hard for 10 minutes and rebottled after cleaning and boiling the same jar. All is fine, at the moment.
The rose cordial sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, I cannot grow them more than a couple of seasons on my land....just not enough sun, too cold in the valley and too much West wind, IMO. Maybe I will try some this summer, just for the cordial and not expect them to survive.
The elder flower cordial also fills your head with the scent of the flowers. It’s Summer anytime you use some.