What To Do With Your Rose Petals
1. Make potpourri with rose petals
Roses are known for their beautiful scent, and making potpourri can keep their beautiful essence lasting longer. Potpourri can be made using any flowers and essential oils, however roses are some of the most popular ones.
To add a flash of colour, you could try using yellow roses, or pink and red for something more traditional. For a winning rose petal potpourri, try this combination:
Rose petal potpourri
1. Remove petals from the flower to start the drying process
2. Spread the petals over newspaper or cardboard to allow them to dry
3. Place them in a dry spot for two or three days until they look and feel dry
4. Once the rose petals are dry, place them in a sealable jar
5. Add half a cup of dried lavender and some rose and lavender essential oils too
6. Close the container and shake
7. Leave for a day or two
8. Shake again
9. Open to release the delicious aroma, adding any further oils or scents as you see fit.
10. For Christmas, cloves, orange peel and cinnamon can be lovely additions
2. Make a dried rose wreath
There’s nothing more festive than making your own wreath, and dried roses look great as an addition to your Christmas wreath. Simply weave your roses into your wreath when they are alive, or starting to dry out and allow them to age whole. Be sure to dry them facing downwards so that they age as beautifully as possible. They will give a lovely aroma to your wreath and add a flowery touch.
White roses look stunning in a dried wreath, and can be perfect for a wedding anniversary or festive flower arrangement using your dried flowers. They dry to a light cream colour and last for up to three weeks.
3. Dress fruits with roses
Fresh rose petals not only look beautiful, but they are completely edible too! If you’re having a dinner party or serving a fruit based dessert, adding rose petals can be a delightful surprise. They have a floral scent and taste, and can be eaten with fruits and sweet treats.
If you’re not sure about sprinkling them on top of your dessert, why not place them on the side for decoration?
4. Make your own rose scrub
Making a DIY rose scrub can be a lovely gift, or a homemade treat for yourself. It’s a great way to use rose petals and easy to make. We recommend using pink roses for this scrub, as they seem to hold their colour a bit better than other colours. Roses are organic matter and when they fade some of them can go more of a beige or brown colour, but pink roses tend to fade to a soft mauve which looks pretty in a scrub.
Homemade Rose Scrub
1. Gently pluck the fresh rose petals
2. Add 1 cup of sugar, half a cup of coconut oil and 2 cups of rose petals to a blender
3. Blend the mixture until it feels and looks like a scrub (adding more oil if it’s too solid)
4. Add in 10 drops of rose essential oil and mix together
5. Pop it into a container and keep for yourself, or give away as a gift!
5. Make rosewater with dried rose petals
Rose water is one of the most popular beauty tonics of the moment, with great benefits for the skin. Rose water is a great way to calm acne and skin issues and balance the skin’s acid and pH levels.
You may have noticed that lots of top beauty brands are now featuring rose water as a tonic or skin solution to calm the skin and soothe any burns or itchiness. It’s super gentle on the skin and can be ingested or placed onto the skin directly to reap all of the amazing benefits. Ideally, you should aim to use organic roses, or those with minimal pesticides if you’re ingesting their residue, however you can still use standard roses as long as you give them a good clean prior.
Rose water
1. Remove the rose petals from the flower
2. Clean the rose petals thoroughly
3. Place the roses at the centre of a large empty saucepan and cover with around a cup of water
4. Cover the saucepan and bring the heat up to a simmer
5. Allow around 30 minutes for the rose petals to infuse the water
6. After half an hour, take the saucepan lid off and you’ll be left with rose water in the bowl which is ready to be used as a skin tonic!