Flowers in vases | Grouping

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I do love a flower, in a vase. My house is always filled with them because it not only makes the place look better, it just makes me feel better. About my home. My family. My space. Yes indeed, I am a weirdo. First thing I do whenever I have been away and I need to get re-acquainted with my space, is get some flowers in a vase. Cleaning the house? FLOWERS IN A VASE. Special occasion or visitors coming staying? You bet your arse there will be flowers in vases. What occurred to me whenever I post a picture of a new arrangement on the blog, or Instagram or on Facebook, is that other people like it to. And that some people might not know how to do it. I know, I can hear you, it’s just some stupid flowers in a vase, how hard can it be? But sometimes you just need a little guidance, a little direction so you can be vignetting the shit out of your own arrangements and calling yourself Martha flipping Stewart.

Now. I am no expert. Far from it. I just like flowers. If I had just a few dollars left, I’d spend my money on some because they make me happy. And I like putting them into vases in my home. I’ve been doing it ever since I was a little girl, and I just plain love it. That’s all the training I have. But I thought I’d share some ideas and some different ways you can whack a flower in a vase. So, you know, you can too!

One thing I like to do with flowers is grouping them together. It makes one bunch go a lot further (if you’re on a budget) and you can also make one bunch fill an entire table setting. You can vary the heights, the vases or bottles that you out them in to get difference out of the one type of flower. Or you can choose just 2 or 3 kinds of flowers – with different colours or textures but within the same kind of colour palette and group them together.

Kind of like this. I’ve got 4 different kinds of flowers/greenery here. The flowers are red Dahlia’s, there is some little gem Magnolia leaves (they are the ones that are glossy green on one side and smooth and brown underneath). There’s some thistle (beautiful blue/green) and a small piece of fern (I don’t know what that is though). The different textures all work together – as does the colour palette – and the different heights. To me there is something lovely about a collection of bottles filled with water, the vases/bottles are just as beautiful as the flowers on top. But as I said, weirdo.

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Here are some flowers that I had for my sister’s Hens Weekend. White was the theme (of course Bridey McBridesville!) but that didn’t mean that the flowers all had to be samey same. Don’t leave Baby’s Breath in the 80’s…check out how cute it looks bunched together and whacked into a dodgy old jar! You can spend extra on one special flower – like a rose or peony rose, then not so much on a green filler and something like Baby’s Breath. You can see different heights too. And if you are grouping together – keep the numbers of vases odd. I don’t know why, it’s just some kind of weird universal rule of grouping shit together.

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These pretties are from a Spring Garden Party I held last year. I wanted the flowers to be bright and sunny (like Spring) so tried to choose colours to reflect that. See? Again I used the same bottles – some Daffodil’s that I bought, a cheap green filler that cost next to nothing, and some Daphne from the garden. Different heights, different textures and scents all coming together.

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This one is just the one bunch of Dahlia’s again, spread out to make it go further. If you get sick of an arrangement, move it around. Have fun. GO CRAZY. This is my idea of fun.

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Or you could go completely Christmas crackers and mix it up entirely. These were for Harper’s 2nd Birthday rainbow party and Christening. I actually wrote a specific post about the flowers in that one, so check that out. Rather than mixing them up into one big arrangement, the smaller ones of the same flower do the same job…and you can mix them up. Line them up down a table, or group them together on a side table.

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This weekend I want you to have a crack. Go into your garden and pick something that’s in flower (slim pickings I know this time of year). I’ve got some Daphne in flower, some Hellebore’s (Winter roses) and some Camellia’s. Take some picking of something green too and have a crack at some different heights, different arrangements, different groupings. GO ON! Vignette the shit out of it with a candle or something nearby and sit back and admire your creativity. And take a picture and let me see!

Happy Weekend friends! I am looking forward to seeing my husband again, drinking and catching up with some family and sitting by the fire and staying warm…it’s going to be a cold one!

Comments

  1. Mel Duker says

    We have the kangaroo paws out at the moment. Reds, yellows and whites. Gorgeous colour, shape and texture and last a good week in a vase in the kitchen adding some wonderful colour.

    • BabyMacBlogBeth says

      I cut a succulent from my sister’s garden about 8 weeks ago and it’s still going strong! Such great shapes and colours and I love how long they last.

    • Oh Mel, so jealous! I am Perth born where I feel like I grew up surrounded with them and now here in Victoria I can’t remember ever seeing a Kangaroo Paw. How delightful.

  2. I’m loving kale flowers at the moment, cheap and gorgeous. If I haven’t got any flowers in my garden and can’t get out to buy some, I go outside and chop some laurel branches and shove them in a vase, you’d be surprised how good the shiny green leaves look.

    • BabyMacBlogBeth says

      I’ve permanently got magnolia leaves in a vase on my mantel piece. I just love the shiny green leaves and the brown underneath. And it’s free!

  3. ahoy.jenni says

    What a talented weirdo you are! I used to do flowers all the time but now I don’t have enough bench space up high enough away from a climbing 3 yo terror (I mean little boy) so alas the aesthetic in me has to lay dormant …sigh…

  4. JoCountrylifeexperiment says

    When we first got married, Country Boy worked at the flower markets so we always had heaps of flowers around the house. These days the nearest florist is 40 minutes away, and there just doesn’t seem to be so many around the house. I miss those days!

  5. Madeleine Morris says

    Nothing better than freshies in a vase. The house just looks CLEANER. Harris Farm has gorg white and yellow jonquils at the moment for $4 a bunch!

    • BabyMacBlogBeth says

      Agreed! I am rolling those bunches quite a bit at the moment….they are perfect for this cold and dreary time of year!

  6. Oh I LOVE this post. I forgot to buy my regular Friday flowers today .. need to rectify that quick smart, implement and vignette!

  7. Lisa Mckenzie says

    I have nothing in flower atm but my son bought me home some Birds of Paradise flowers from a jobsite he was working on and I have taught him to bring me some leaves as well,they help fill the vase.I love flowers I did a floral art course at Tafe back in the 90s and you are right they taught us odd numbers always look better,i find that it works for everything.
    Enjoy your weekend with Rob and catching up with family and keeping warm.

  8. Vange Asuncion Langford says

    All from the garden. Thanks for the inspiration – took 10 minutes to add beauty indoors 🙂

  9. crazyspeedylove says

    Fresh Flowers – a must in this house! It is amazing how they can lift your sprits and put a smile on your face…even after your child has just cut a bloody hole in your couch!!!!

Trackbacks

  1. […] One of the things I’m thinking about is using some fresh flowers to liven things up. I love using a collection of bottles and jars grouped together: it makes an impact but can be cheaper in terms of how many flowers you need to buy – which is always good! This blog post has some really lovely ideas: http://baby-mac.com/2013/07/flowers-in-vases-grouping/ […]

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