A: Dried flower petals and aromatic herbs, seeds, peels and spices make wonderful potpourri. Sometimes you may also want to add some essential oil.

There are no hard and fast rules to follow when making potpourri, but there are a few guidelines that are helpful.

All ingredients for your potpourri must be dried completely to preserve their color and scent so that they will remain fragrant for a long time. Some good flower choices include larkspur, marigolds, rose petals, violets, flowering jasmine and lily of the valley.

Good herb choices include rosemary, lavender, mint, peppermint and lemon verbena. Gather the petals or leaves when they are dry and spread them out on sheets of paper in a shady but airy room. Leave them on the paper until completely dry. Dry the leaves and petals whole, but once dried, crush a few to release their scent.

Once your ingredients are dry, it is essential to add some type of fixative to blend the fragrances and to retard the evaporation of essential oils. The fixatives most often used are common salt and orrisroot, which comes from the rhizomes of Iris florentina, or gum benzoin, which is from a witch hazel tree native to the Far East.

The last two fixatives have a fragrant scent, which enhance the potpourri. At this point, you may also add crushed or ground spices if you want. Some good choices include coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and anise. Use 1 tablespoon of fixative to about 1 cup of petals and leaves. Sprinkle on essential oils if desired, a drop at a time, stirring between each drop. Seal and store in a warm, dry, dark place for six weeks to cure. Display however you like (sachets, decorative bowls, etc.).

QWhy are barns usually painted red?

A: Red is, or perhaps was, a very popular color for barns that seems to have been chosen not for its color but for its usefulness.

Many years ago, choices for paints, sealers and other building materials did not exist. Farmers had to be resourceful in finding or making a paint that would protect and seal the wood on their barns. Hundreds of years ago, many farmers would seal their barns with linseed oil, which is an orange-colored oil derived from the seeds of the flax plant.

To this oil, they would add a variety of things, most often milk and lime, but also ferrous oxide, or rust. Rust was plentiful on farms and, because it killed fungi and mosses that might grow on barns, was very effective as a sealant. It turned the mixture red in color. When paint became more available, many people chose red paint for their barns in honor of tradition.

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