The Secret to Better Flowers Is the Vase

In college I worked for a florist where I learned that the vase matters almost as much as the flowers.

And in my daily practice of making arrangements for the house, (and for my husband Michael’s reels on Instagram), I’m always amazed at how a bunch of flowers can look completely wrong in one vessel and suddenly ravishing in another. Wispy flowers need something different from blowsy ones. Branches have architectural requirements. A few sweet peas want intimacy. Twelve sunflowers require engineering.

It’s partly proportion—the height, the width, the size of the opening—but also mood. Does the flower want rustic or refined? Clear glass or cloudy stoneware? Something very fine, or something that looks as though you found it behind a barn in Normandy?

Which brings me to the excellent news: a good vase does not have to be expensive. Some of my most useful vases cost less than the flowers.

I am just as likely to reach for something from IKEA as I am for one of my precious pieces. In fact, IKEA is extremely good at vases, pitchers and miscellaneous containers that were possibly intended to hold wooden spoons but have, in my house, been reassigned to dahlias.

I’ve been collecting vases for twenty years. Some I’ve bought, some were given to me, some came from flea markets and thrift shops.

Here are the ones I use over and over again. (Click underlined words for links)