It is super easy to make floral water. And why not make floral water from the delicious aromatic blossoms from the bird cherry tree?
The lovely scent from the small white blossoms smells like a combination of floral honey and sweet almond. It actually is one of my favorite scents! Not only because it smells so divine, but also because the scent is a sign that spring is about to transform into summer.
The bird cherry tree does not blossom so long, usually about 1-2 weeks in May. And this spring I wanted to be able to enjoy that smell for longer than that! That is how I got the idea to make a floral water.
When I posted about making bird cherry floral water on Instagram, many of you were interested about how to make it yourselves! So I decided this month’s blog post would be just about that, when the trees are still blooming (at least here in Sweden). Otherwise you will be fully prepared for next spring!
Using what nature has to offer
I think it is lovely when you make your own products or food with things that grow around you. Using what nature abundantly has to offer is a big part of living naturally. We are often so disconnected from nature that we no longer see all the beauty and abundance of everything that is growing around us. And we also forget that it could be used, completely free of charge!
✧ Read: 10 Ways To Connect With The Earth
Making your own beauty or self-care products is also not that difficult. You can make it as complicated or as easy as you want to! When making your own products, you have the benefit of knowing exactly what you put into it. This way you can make it completely toxic free, organic, local, freshly produced, zero waste and in season! How more natural can it get?!
The uses of Floral Water
Before diving into making the floral water it can be interesting to know different ways to use it and what it can be good for!
I personally use floral water as a toner before applying my skin care products. It makes it easier to apply and I also need way less product as the floral water helps distribute it even on the entire skin. If you want that dewy and moisturized look, definitely spritz some floral water on your face after cleansing and before applying your skin care products!
Here are some ideas on how you can use any floral water:
- In beauty products: Use it as an ingredient when making your own beauty products. Such as soaps, lip balm, creams and lotions etc.
- Facial mask: Use a floral water as an ingredient in a facial mask for hydration and skin healing properties.
- Room refresher spray: To make the room smell fresh and flowery for a little while.
- Facial toner: Soothing and calming for the skin. Helps to heal your skin and gives that healthy fresh glow. Also makes applying skin care products easier.
- Hair mist: Spray it on your hair for a flowery fragrance and to hydrate your hair.
- Body mist: For a faint scent of flower lingering on the skin. It also feels refreshing and leaves the skin soft and dewy.
Properties of the bird cherry blossom
It is said that the blossom of the bird cherry works anti inflammatory and anti bacterial. Therefor it can help against impurities on the skin and also on small cuts and sun burn to improve healing. Although there is no scientific proof that the blossoms have these qualities, the scent of the bird cherry floral water is reason enough for me to use it on both my skin and hair!
The aromatherapy properties of the bird cherry blossoms are calming, refreshing and centering. The scent of the sweet blossoms is also said to give happiness and spark creativity.
How to make Bird Cherry Floral Water
This is a very easy method for making your own bird cherry floral water that anyone can do in their own kitchen without any special equipment.
What you’ll need.
- A saucepan
- A colander
- A fine strainer
- A litre jug
- Small glass bottles with an optional spray head
Instructions
Step one: Collect the blossoms
Firstly you have to go out with a basket or a bowl and find a bird cherry tree that blossoms. I would not recommend to pick from a tree that grows in the city or close to a road, as it can absorb toxins from its surroundings. The best is to get the flowers from a tree that grows in nature. Bird cherry trees like to grow near streams or in wet woodland.
When you’ve found your tree or trees, you can start to collect the blossoms. Cut the flower clusters from the branches and collect them in your basket. You only want the white flowers so make sure no green leaves follow along. When you collect the blossoms, think about not taking everything from one branch. Instead you want to take the blossoms from different places on the tree and not leave certain branches with nothing. It is even better if you can collect them from different trees. Even if you don’t take a lot, you want to make sure that the tree won’t be damaged.
When you have collected about one litre of blossoms (just lay them loosely in the litre jug to see if you have enough) put them into a colander and rinse them with cold water. Little beasties that may have followed along with the flowers will crawl to the surface and you can save them from becoming an unwanted ingredient in your floral water! 🙂
Step two: Making the floral water
Now the blossoms are rinsed and ready to use! Start to boil one litre of water. When it is boiling, take it of the stove. Now you have to wait until the water cools down to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit). The reason why you let it boil first is to kill any bacteria and make sure the water you are going to use is really clean. And the reason why you let it cool down is because too hot water will destroy the healing properties that the blossoms may have.
When the water has reached 60 degrees, you put the blossoms in a saucepan and pour the warm water over the blossoms and stir. Then you put on the lid and let it sit until the mixture has cooled down to room temperature. When the mixture has cooled down, pour it into the litre measurement through a strainer to strain all the blossoms out. Squeeze the water from the blossoms through the strainer with a spoon to get all of the water out. Now your floral water is ready! Transfer it into clean glass bottles (you can sterilize the bottles by filling them with boiled water. Just make sure the glass isn’t ice cold before exposing it to hot water as the glass may burst).
And you’re done! Store the bottle you are going to use in the fridge. It will last for about a week. The rest of the bottles you can put in the freezer and they will keep until you decide to use them (don’t fill the whole bottle you are going to freeze, as water expands when it freezes and may break the glass). You can compost the left over flowers or give it back to nature by laying them under the tree you got them from.
Last Thoughts on How to Make Bird Cherry Floral Water
If the bird cherry tree does not blossom anymore where you live, you can still make your own floral water with another type of blossom or flower. Some other divine smelling flowers I’m going to try to make a floral water from are lilacs and elder flower! But first I’ll have to wait until they bloom here in Sweden.
If you are interested in more natural DIY beauty products, check out some of these posts:
Bird Cherry Floral Water
Materials
- 1 litre water
- 1 litre bird cherry blossoms
Instructions
- Find a bird cherry tree in blossom. Make sure the tree doesn't grow in a polluted place, like in the city or next to a big road.
- Collect one litre of bird cherry blossoms. Cut off the cluster with the blossoms from the branches and make sure no green leaves follow along.
- Rinse the bird cherry blossoms in cold water to get rid of possible bugs that have followed along. Then put the rinsed blossoms in a saucepan.
- Boil one litre of water and then let it cool to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Pour over the warm water over the blossoms in the saucepan. Stir and then put on a lid. Let the mixture cool down to room temperature (takes 1-2 hours).
- Strain the flower water through a fine mesh strainer. Squeeze all the water from the blossoms through the strainer with a spoon.
- Now the bird cherry flower water is ready! Pour it in dark glass bottles and store the bottle you are going to use in the fridge. It will keep fresh for about a week.
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