The Stylist Secret To The Perfect Flower Or Greenery Arrangement (Hint: It’s All About the Vase)

There are alot of things in our homes we don’t give that much thought to until they become an issue. They can be things like dealing with the annoyances of a crappy can opener that you didn’t realize was so crappy until you bought an actually great one (I’ve had this one for six years and love it, FYI!). Or maybe the pile of shoes in your entryway was tolerable until it wasn’t and you realize you need some serious storage solutions (like this cabinet!).

For me, it was only recently that I realized why I struggled so much with making my grocery store florals and greenery (and even fancy bouquets I was gifted) look good. Spoiler alert: I was putting no mind into what vase I was using.

design by arlyn hernandez | styling by emily edith bowser | photo by sara ligorria-tramp | from: 3 years in the making then an unexpected move: arlyn’s bedroom reveal is a lesson in the beauty of “unfinished” design

Truthfully, I don’t actually have many vases in my arsenal of home decor. I have a few cheap glass pieces that came with flowers I received through delivery services (you know the type). Then there are the decorative vases that aren’t even watertight that are really just for styling out a surface to add height or color (and no flowers). I went through a phase where I was big into using drink pitchers and jugs because I liked the whimsy they added to a vignette. But beyond that, I found myself really struggling every time flowers and branches came into my house.

And then I dared to ask myself…why? Why was this seemingly simple task of popping stems into a receptacle not really working for me? I brought the question up casually to Jess, and we both boiled it down to one thing: I wasn’t using the right vases for the right flowers. I was just grabbing whatever and hoping for the best. The vase you use directly affects how your flowers, branches, and greenery stems look, and it’s absolutely not one size fits all.

There is a better way. A far more calculated way, in fact, and today, I’ve got the cheat sheet for you.

design by emily henderson and ARCIFORM | photo by kaitlin green | from: family room reveal – by far the coziest room in the house and here’s why

How To Pick The Right Vase: A Cheat Sheet

Oftentimes, there are actual answers to things I think are some sort of magical power. Floral arranging is one of those things (both magical and calculated). My “hope for the best” mentality was no longer serving me, so, I did what I always do in those situations: go deep. Deep down the rabbit hole. I studied beautiful images from this blog (styled by Emily Henderson and Emily Bowser), all my saved posts on Instagram, flipped through magazines, and even looked at a ton of retail listings to see how specific vases were being used. And from there, I distilled things down to usable, actionable information for myself and now, you.

Granted, there will be plenty of times when you can make anything look great in any vase (magical powers I tell ya). And stems of greens, especially thin ones with spaced-out leaves, will work basically in any shape. But for a good starting point, I hope the graphic I made below is helpful for you!

In general, when it comes to the height of a vase compared to the flower stems going into it, you’ll want to aim for something that is 1/2 to 3/4 the length of what you cut your stems. There are exceptions to this, like a low fishbowl arrangement…more on that later. For long, drippy and droopy greenery, use a vase that is 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the stems you cut. That way they have room to feel organic and whimsical but still anchored.

Now, let’s get into some more specifics…

design & styling by rashida banks | photo by keyanna bowen | from: rashida’s totally transformed kitchen reveal (that includes one of our favorite “new classic” kitchen trends)

For Large Branches & Large, Wild Arrangements: Use an Urn or Hourglass Vase

It’s hard to argue how impactful a big, bushy arrangement can have on the styling of a room. As much as I wish I had a home that always had a gorgeous spray of greenery, I typically only buy it when I get the itch for something new, or if I have a dinner party (or a photoshoot). But whenever you find yourself in a situation where you’re pulling out a vase for a large, wild grouping of flowers or branches, what you need is an urn style (or even an hourglass shape).

The bulbous body shape of these juxtaposed with a smaller opening is a great vehicle for letting stems spread out inside the vase for a good lean outside of the vase. This is especially helpful for plant varieties that don’t have a lot of flexibility (like cherry blossoms, for instance). These types of vases are also really stately, refined, and downright classy. They look beautiful at the center of a dining table, on a long credenza, or even on a kitchen island. If you know you love hefty branches, make sure the vase is heavy enough to support the weight of the extension of the branches.

I also really love an hourglass vase for flower arrangements that are really varied with lots of different florals with some good flop but also standing varieties (think eucalyptus vs. hydrangeas).

design & styling by emily edith bowser | photo by sara ligorria-tramp | from: emily bowser’s beautiful hardworking, multipurpose room reveal (+ get ready for her diys)

For Large Droopy Greenery & a General Go-To: Try a Cylinder Vase

If there is any vase out that that is a regular jack-of-all-trades, it’s the cylinder vase. It works for a lot of varieties but looks best when they are about half the height of the arrangement inside of them. I wouldn’t use one of these (unless it’s short) for things like roses, daisies, or tulips (see the fishbowl section). Flowers that are meant to stick straight up feel a little out of place in a cylinder if you ask me. These are excellent for basically any type of greenery and again, a varied bouquet. They’re also great for really whispy florals like a spray of baby’s breath, for instance. You want some width to whatever goes in these, not just a straight line up and down from flower to the bottom of the vase. Get me?

A super versatile type of cylinder vase is a pitcher and even a crock (like #5 and #7). I wouldn’t necessarily go about reusing a pitcher I used as a vase to serve drinks, but it can be used to water other hour plants when not in use as a vase, and a crock can be used to hold kitchen tools, a collection of rolling pins, etc.

design: emily henderson | photo: sara ligorria-tramp | from: portland reveal: you’ll never guess what this bookcase is hiding…

I find the hardest vase to work with is the bottleneck vase, but it’s because I don’t think I was using them appropriately. Bottleneck vases are exactly what they sound like: a vase that comes up to a tight bottleneck. It can be round, shapely, narrow, whatever. And the neck can be super long and skinny or even just short but very tight when compared to the body of the vase. In the past, I’ve tried to shove a full bouquet into a bottleneck vase and, uh, that’s like me trying to squeeze my size 8 feet into my toddler’s jelly sandals. It ain’t gonna work, folks.

Use these for plopping down 2-3 stems of branches (an asymmetrical lean like the photo above is awesome), or even splitting up a single bouquet of flowers into multiple vases without them looking sparse. Hot tip: be sure to trim off excess leaves that might be on the stem part that’s inside the vase for a cleaner look. Otherwise, your vase’s neck is going to be crowded with leaves and look a little junky.

For “Leggy” Stems or Just a Few Hardy Branches: Bottleneck Vase is the Way

design & styling: arlyn hernandez | photo: sara ligorria-tramp | from: reveal: arlyn’s bright & happy rental living room makeover

For Short Stems Or Tidy Single-Flower Arrangements: Give A Fishbowl (Or Bud Vase) A Go

And finally, two pretty different vase types that I jammed into a single graphic (sorry). Briefly, use a bud vase for, well, buds. Small flower clippings, a single little whisp of leaves on a stem, or even a tiny little arrangement. I love a bud vase for small flowers like ranunculus, a clipping of lilac, pansies, billy balls…that kind of thing.

The fishbowl is kind of my new favorite. I tend to buy a lot of single-flower bouquets because they feel tidy, modern, and easy. (Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a wild arrangement, but I’m just into this at the moment). Fishbowls are particularly useful for heavy-headed flower types like peonies, hydrangeas, and even roses, mums, etc. Any flower without too much flop works great here because they look great cut down fairly short where the bulb itself is the star, rather than the greenery.

That’s not to say something else would work in a fishbowl, but you should always have one of these on hand! They’re great in the center of a dining table that you’re actually dining at because the body is low and sturdy (as opposed to setting up just to be pretty or even as a “station” for appetizers, etc.).

One last tip before I sign off that has been a total gamechanger for me (which is kind of a duh moment but literally NO ONE on this planet taught me how to cut and display flowers so it’s been a learning curve for me): Never underestimate the power of *twisting* your bunch of stems before placing inside a vase, especially with a fishbowl vase. This ensures full coverage of the opening, and that your flowers don’t stick straight up. You want them to kind of “fall” out of the vase visually. It even works to take a little twine and tie some around the center of your gathered stems, then twist the top and bottom of the stems in opposite directions. I promise this will make a HUGE difference for the finished product.

While I feel like there is so much more I can say on the topic (who knew there was so much to talk about with regards to vases and flowers!), I think I’ll leave you here. I really hope this was helpful for anyone who has struggled with flowers like I have. Be sure to save that graphic I made on Pinterest or wherever you collect things like that to reference back to the next time you have some greenery or flowers to set out. It’s going to make things much more effective and visually beautiful, I promise!

Until next time, friends.

Opening Image Credits: Design by Emily Henderson and Arciform | Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: Introducing Our Farmhouse Primary Bathroom Reveal (FINALLY)

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