Tincturing and Extracting Scents from your Garden

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone:

We've had about 50 new members that are here due to the NY Times article

on Making Flowers into Perfume. Many have their own gardens and wish to

learn how to tincture, infuse or otherwise extract the fragrance from

the plants they grow.

I encourage the new members to search the message archive for a

particular subject, and maybe visit my blog

http://anyasgarden.blogspot.com to search for posts there that detail

some of my methods.

What I'd like to start with this thread is ask some of our longtime

members who have successfully created scents from their gardens to start

posting their methods, successes and failures. That will be a nice start

for everyone to share information. We've covered everything from lilacs

to orris root (two of the most difficult) so let's hear of your

adventures in capturing scent.

--

Anya McCoy

http://AnyasGarden.com

http://PerfumeClasses.com

http://NaturalPerfumers.com

[Guest guest]

I live in Southern California and have a yard and garden that I harvest

blooms from.

I use my roses, gardenias, and my flowering trees+ADs- lemon blossoms, orange

blossoms, and grapefruit blossoms.

Bring them into the house and lay on paper towel sto absorb the moisture.

Separate all of the leaves,

twigs, green parts, and petals that are bruised and damaged and discard

everything that is not a terrific looking flower.

Let them air dry for a while until they feel dry...If you tincture wet

materials they turn black, mold, or it just doesn't work.

Fill a clean glass jar with high proof alcohol and put the blooms in and

make sure all of the blooms are covered.

Replace the blooms with new ones. Repeat until you are satisfied with your

results or until your garden stops producing.

I also have put gardenias in jojoba oil and once again it is the same

proces. This method can cause the blossoms to mold. Be careful of this.

I also tincture other items like vanilla beans and use those tinctures in my

perfumes and custom perfumes.

You can shake the tinctures and check on the smell daily.

JoAnne Bassett, Fragrance Therapist+ISI- - Natural Couture Perfumer

http://www.JoAnneBassett.com

http://AromaticJourneys.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/joannebassett.perfumer

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi Joanne,

Do you get enough concentration with one season's worth of blooms, or does

it take a few years? I read a post from someone (I can't remember who) that

made it sound like it could take a couple of years to get to the right

concentration.

What do you think?

Chris

[Guest guest]

>

> I also have put gardenias in jojoba oil and once again it is the same

> proces. This method can cause the blossoms to mold. Be careful of this.

Ah, ha! So that's why my one little jasmine blossom in jojoba smells like moldy

leaves... I think I left it in there too long. How long do you steep your

blossoms before removing them from the oil?

Best,

Shauna

[Guest guest]

>> I also have put gardenias in jojoba oil and once again it is the

>> same process. This method can cause the blossoms to mold. Be

>> careful of this.

>

> Ah, ha! So that's why my one little jasmine blossom in jojoba

> smells like moldy leaves... I think I left it in there too long.

> How long do you steep your blossoms before removing them from the oil?

A couple of years ago, I researched herbed olive oil for a work

project. I learned that it was very important that the herbs be

completely dry before putting them in the oil, or botcholism could

grow. Is it the same with flowers in oil for perfume? Do they need to

be completely dry first to avoid mold?

-Carol

[Guest guest]

>

> A couple of years ago, I researched herbed olive oil for a work

> project. I learned that it was very important that the herbs be

> completely dry before putting them in the oil, or botcholism could

> grow. Is it the same with flowers in oil for perfume? Do they need to

> be completely dry first to avoid mold?

>

Heya, I asked about this on a recent 'Ask the Perfumer' at Anya's blog. She

was really helpful. Her replies are here:

http://anyasgarden.blogspot.com/2010/05/ask-perfumer-sunday-may-23rd-2010.html

Best wishes

Johanna

[Guest guest]

When I put gardenias in jojoba I take each petal on put it on the paper

towel. They air dry and then I put them in jojoba...the same day. They do

not become brittle before I put them in oil. You have to use your judgement

as to how long to keep them in the oil before taking them out. I have tried

several methods and have thrown away a lot of oil and gardenias...not for

the faint of heart. You need a number of plants to make it worthwhile.

I have large and small blooms...some are very, very faint. We are so used

to the +ACI-Jungle Gardenia+ACI- fragrance synthetic gardenia smells that most

people think real gardenias are that strong. They really are soft and

creamy...Smell one today and decide for yourself if it is worth your time.

JoAnne Bassett, Fragrance Therapist+ISI- - Natural Couture Perfumer

http://www.JoAnneBassett.com

http://AromaticJourneys.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/joannebassett.perfumer

[Guest guest]

> A couple of years ago, I researched herbed olive oil for a work

> project. I learned that it was very important that the herbs be

> completely dry before putting them in the oil, or botcholism could

> grow. Is it the same with flowers in oil for perfume? Do they need to

> be completely dry first to avoid mold?

>

> -Carol

>

Botulism is a real danger for *edible* oils. If you're infusing for

perfumery reasons, not so much a worry. Of course, you would be careful

if using the oil for scented lip balms. I'd then have the batch tested

for microbial activity.

Anya McCoy

http://AnyasGarden.com

http://PerfumeClasses.com

http://NaturalPerfumers.com

[Guest guest]

> Botulism is a real danger for *edible* oils. If you're infusing for

> perfumery reasons, not so much a worry. Of course, you would be

> careful if using the oil for scented lip balms. I'd then have the

> batch tested for microbial activity.

>

> Anya McCoy

> http://AnyasGarden.com

> http://PerfumeClasses.com

> http://NaturalPerfumers.com

Thank you, good point! With mint, it could be used for edibles.

I didn't know testing was available, so I'll look into that.

It sounds like I need to start playing with my plants and see

how things work. :-)

Thanks!

-Carol