Who said bigger is better? A collection of bud vases can be a beautiful, budget-friendly centerpiece option, or work in tandem with larger floral arrangements. More is more after all! To help you create this charming look for your holiday table, we teamed up with San Francisco-based, self-taught florist and founder of Ida Blooms, Annie Heath.
Step 1: Gather Your Vases
Overall, bud vases are much smaller than a centerpiece vase and can accommodate only a few stems. These can be anything from votives to old bourbon bottles, candle jars, or small pitchers. The number of bud vases you’ll need depends on the size and shape of your table, but Annie suggests placing them about 3 inches apart, spreading the entire length of a rectangular table, or clustered in the middle of a round table.
Step 2: Gather Your Flowers
When designing your bud vases, think of each one as a mini-arrangement. Each bud vase should include at least one thriller flower (focal flowers that draw the eye), some fillers flowers (secondary blooms or greenery), and a bit of spiller (stems that add drama with height or movement). While processing flowers for a large arrangement (i.e. removing leaves and any unwanted growth), Annie recommends setting aside blooms that are too short or offshoots you’ve cut off other stems to use in your bud vases. This way, nothing goes to waste. For these bud vase beauties, Annie used the following:
Thrillers – Ranunculus, anemones, peonies
Fillers – Lisianthus, wax flower, silver brunia
Spillers – Berries, eucalyptus, rosemary, pomegranates (a thriller and a spiller!)
Step 3: Add Your Thrillers
Start by filling all of your bud vases three quarters with room temperature water. Then, add 1-3 of your thriller flowers (ranunculus and a peony for instance) to each empty vase. Be sure to remove excess leaves and trim down each steam. No stem should be higher than 2x the vase it is in.
Step 4: Build Your Mini-Arrangements
After dividing your thrillers, and guaranteeing that each bud vase has at least one, add filler flowers and spillers to each vase until the arrangement feels complete. Be sure stems are trimmed at different heights and give each vase a spin to make sure your arrangement looks good on all sides.
Step 5: Style Your Collection
Place each of your bud vases 3 inches to 4 inches apart, staggering them along the table. Then, take a step back and survey the collection to ensure there’s variance in color and height among both the arrangements and the vases. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments to your arrangements or vase placement as needed.
Discover more centerpiece arrangement ideas HERE.
Photos by Lyola Rowe, produced by Skylar Frederick
