Why You Should Care About Your Vase

We’ve already shared our tips on Choosing Your Vessel with our guide on how to select the perfect sized vase for the arrangement you’re making. But now we want to discuss the importance of a vase, and how having a really great one can make any arrangement look more pro and less amateur.

FIG. I A vintage ceramic vase, perfect for bending long stemmed flowers

I’ve often taken flowers to a friend’s or family’s home and am met with the same sentence ‘I don’t think I’ve got the right vase for these’. Vases are often objects we overlook, grabbed in a hurry, something glass from IKEA maybe or a mason jar from the back of a cupboard. Curating a solid collection of them is something of a lost art. We can spend hours agonising over the right picture frame, or candlestick holders, but the vase is generally out of mind until that day you pick up a bunch of flowers.

My Nanna for example, has some very heavy crystal vases that are stored in boxes. They have been gifted to her for anniversaries or special occasions over the years. But this sort of thing doesn’t really happen anymore amongst younger generations. Perhaps now it's even considered a little odd to gift a vase with nothing in it?

FIG. II My absolute favourite glossy black vase

There is something really special about finding a good vase, over the years when I’ve been buying for my own home I started to pick them up as and when I saw styles I loved. And then naturally, as my interest in floristry grew, so did my vase and vessel collection. In buying more flowers, I started to realise what shapes and styles I was missing. It might have been something taller, something wider or flatter. Slowly I learnt that the flowers you buy can look amazing, but in the wrong vase - something about it just feels off.

Of course, I’m not saying that we all need to be storing hundreds of options, but if you’ve ever felt stuck with how your flowers are looking, it might actually be your vase.

So here are my top tips for elevating your flowers into something a bit more special with really very little effort.

FIG. III Multiple stainless steel and chrome vases used to separate out flowers

Separate out your flowers
When you buy or receive a bunch of flowers, the obvious thing to do is to keep them all together. But if you haven’t got the right vase for this to work, breaking the bunch down can be a nice way to add something into each room of your house.

Using smaller pots, containers or creating your own vessel using something from the kitchen makes it’s easier to create something more cohesive.

One stem arrangements - so an arrangement that is all the same flower, is currently very popular arranging technique. By grouping the same stems together and creating multiple arrangements it can easily become something much more curated.

FIG. IV Seeing the flower frog / Kenzan inside the vase is a nice addition

Elevate your glass vase
There are so many great glass vase options available that are really inexpensive. The beauty of a glass vase is that it makes the focus the flowers. They can become almost camouflage, which I personally really like and use a lot in my work.

I've got quite a few in various shapes, square, footed, tall and really large - and while there is nothing wrong with something super simple, it's always fun to play with shape and scale when using a material as plain as glass.

Of course we need to be ensuring the water stays nice and clean, because no-one wants to be looking at murky water. But if anything it’s a good reminder to change it over and give those flowers a refresh.

Go for something footed
A footed vase should be in everyone’s cupboard in my opinion. Skip the bulky jug and swap it out for this much more elegant shape. If you buy a footed glass vase, even better - you’ve ticked two in one of my tips.

The shape is one that will probably never go out of style, it's a really timeless design. With this style it's actually about the proportions, the footed section elongates the vase, drawing the eye up and down the arrangement.

FIG. V My favourite footed glass vase that works so well for everything

Mix the materials
Over the years I’ve pick up a bit of an obsession for pewter vases, it’s a material I’ve always loved and there is a softness to it that I’ve not felt from chrome or brass. That being said, chrome or stainless steel is really having a moment and I think if you are looking to make your vase collection slightly more modern, this would be a good direction to go in.

That being said, I have a real love for anything black and glossy - something about it just looks so elegant and the contrast between the shine and the flowers is always something I’ve loved.

There are so many ceramic options available, and while I don’t mind a more rustic looking vase with some texture, it can sometimes make flowers look dated. So in this instance I would look for interesting shapes and colours, rather than going for the more traditional shapes.

FIG VI. A vintage bottle adds height and impact to taller stemmed flowers

Make anything into a vessel
If you’re feeling a bit more bold, then don’t just use search terms like ‘vase’ when shopping - instead starting looking at things in terms of whether or not they might hold a bit of water. I’ve got some really beautiful ceramic dishes, bottles and cups that I often use to make more intricate arrangements. They hold just the right amount of water, and using tools like a flower frog or Kenzan means you can be much more creative with your display.

The beauty of using other options is that it opens up a lot more room to play around. The stereotypical vase can sometimes be limiting in their design. Either too tall, too wide. By opening up your options things can become more personal and unexpected.