Rose DIY - Uses for Roses You Pick At Home

Roses are a stunning addition to any garden, bringing an instantly romantic and timeless visual appeal to outdoor spaces. They can sit seamlessly in all sorts of garden settings and they’re a great simple gift when cut simply from the bush. However, there are also plenty of fun and fruitful rose DIY projects that greenthumbs can lean into to make the most of their planting efforts.

This piece touches on the uses for cuttings from your climbing or potted roses, so you can enjoy the flowers far beyond their presence in the garden.

Creating flower arrangements, wreaths & garlands

Flower arrangements using roses can take various forms. Sure, you can take a few roses and put them in a vase but that’s just the beginning of your potential options. Other great flowers to match with roses include Lavender, Catmint, Tulips, Lilies, Salvias and more that create pleasant scents and stunning visuals. 

Dried or plucked flowers can be used for rose craft, when making dried arrangements, wreaths and decorative garlands. 

Making potpourri

Knowing how to make potpourri from rose petals and other dried flowers is a super simple process. 

1. Picking rose petals, other flowers, herbs and fruit peels

2. Air dry them on single mesh surfaces, turning regularly outside of sunlight

3. Muddle the petals and dried elements in a bowl

4. Add a few drops of essential oil for additional scents (optional)

5. Place the potpourri in a decorative bowl or jar and shake it around

6. Enjoy the smell!

Make homemade rose water

If you know how to use rose water, you may as well make it yourself as a bit of rose DIY! It’s as simple as simmering some petals in distilled water for about half hour until the roses lose all of their colour. 

Some common rose water uses include: 

• Applying it as a natural toner

• Using it as a facial mist

• As an ingredient for a face mask

• Removing makeup as a cleanser

• Flavouring desserts, beverages and salad dressings

• Vapourising it to reduce stress and promote relaxation

• As a digestive aid

Homemade rose oil

Petals from patio roses can be infused into carrier oils (such as almond or jojoba oil), after spending about 3-6 weeks in a jar, within a warm cupboard. The jar needs to be shaken daily, with the oil then drained through muslin cloth after infusing. Once it’s done, it can be used in skincare, aromatherapy and even mood-balancing techniques. 

Rose DIY bathroom products

Rose petals are good enough to be used as a luxurious, fragrant additional soak addition when simply stirred into bathwater. They can also be mashed up or dried and ground into bath bombs, bath salts and even scrubs. 

Culinary uses

Roses are fragrant, aromatic tools that can be used for various cooking and culinary purposes. The kinds of kitchen-based uses of plucked and cut roses include: 

• Candied rose petals for decorating cakes and pastries

• Petals can be infused into teas, syrups and alcoholic beverages

• Rose hips can be used in jams and preserves

• Dried petals can be used in all manner of sweet and savory dishes

Homemade candles

The revenue generated from candles in the UK has reached around $297.39M this year, showing just how viable they are as gifts. With that in mind, drying your rose petals and grinding them into the wax from a candle-making set is a great way to add a further romantic element to the gift-giving process. 

The possibilities are endless

If you’re interested in enacting some rose DIY, then you need to go to a plant supplier that you can trust. Finding the best roses, whether potted, in seed form for flower beds or anywhere in between, is the only way to really start your DIY rose craft projects.