The first notes you inhale on entering a home says a lot about its inhabitants.

The French, however, have made an art out of making sure that their homes fill your senses with fragrant woody notes. All this is made possible by a handful of dried flowers kept in a bowl. They are called potpourri, a name given to a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant flower petals, plant slivers and herbs kept in a bowl or tied in small pouches.

The fragrance is achieved by mixing spices and scented fixatives to the dried petals and herbs. These are then kept in special pots with perforated lids to scent up a house. They are usually purchased in different forms from shops, but those inclined to be innovative can try making some at home, with their own brands of perfume. It's the best way to keep your environment fragrant for a long time.

How to make a rose potpourri
Ingredients:
Rose petals
Essential oils
Spices and herbs
Fixative

Method:
Collect or buy some fresh rose petals from a florist, and dry them in a flat pan or any other flat surface until they turn crisp. For each quart of petals, add one tablespoon fixative. Dry lavender, oak moss, sandalwood or orrisroot are available in chopped form at any herb store. Add your favourite spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, dried citrus peel and vanilla beans. Finally, add a few drops of essential oil from an aromatherapy range, or your favourite perfume. Seal the mixture in a jar, and let it mellow for 10 days.

Keep shaking the jar every couple of days so that the ingredients blend properly.

Place it in a porcelain bowl in the house, or make a sachet of potpourri and place it in your drawer.