The blue vase

I seldom arrange flowers in the blue vase, despite its being one of my favorites.  In fact, I hesitated to buy it when I found it in an antique store several years ago, even though it cost only 50 cents.

I loved it at once on account of its brilliant translucent blue.  I liked its scalloped rim and the bunches of grapes pressed into its sides.  I even thought the vase, given its relatively crude style of manufacture, might be older and more valuable than it seemed.  Its height and footed shape make it perfect as a base for a centerpiece.  Arranging flowers in it, though, can be challenging.

I take on the challenge about once a year.  I love the sight of this vase filled with flowers when the weather is lousy.

A metal frog is essential to keep the flowers from flopping out of such a shallow bowl.  To keep the frog level against the slanted sides, I place a piece of thin fine foam rubber underneath.  The flimsy sponge stays put underwater, gripping the bottom and keeping the frog centered and straight.

Because the flowers must fan out from the center to some degree, it’s best to choose stems that are firm rather than droopy.  In any event, one will need a fairly large number.  The arrangement above used two large bunches of daisies, whose stems were cut very short—less than six inches.

It’s good to have plenty of foliage or flowers that grow in clusters on their stalks when making an arrangement in a wide-mouthed vase.

Yesterday I used the blue vase for a mixed bouquet.  It worked out well because the bouquet came with many ferns that could be used to fill in the spaces between the blooms.

The bottom line is that I love looking at flowers in the blue vase!