Easily Arrange Your Flowers With Ina Garten's Simple Vase Trick

Fresh flowers can add a lovely pop of color and springy décor to your home, but the process of arranging one large bouquet can be a bit difficult. If you're trying to fit all of your flowers in one large vase, it will take some skill to properly showcase each blossom, especially if you're attempting to mix different varieties to create one cohesive floral centerpiece. Different flower heights, stem thicknesses, and drooping heads can wreak havoc on the look you have in mind, and wider-mouthed vases typically lack the support to keep flimsier flowers upright and in place. To prevent this problem, Ina Garten shared a deceptively simple solution — split your flowers up to make a few cohesive mini-displays.

The famed cookbook author showcased a collection of vibrant ranunculus blossoms split between three matching vases. "Instead of making one big arrangement, it's so much easier to make small vases of flowers and just move them around until they look right," she shared on Instagram.

Ina Garten showcased three mid-sized vases holding small, colorful flowers on Instagram. Each of these vases falls into the same color family and has a similar shape, so when placed together, they create an overall cohesive and connected look. To do this yourself, gather a few small vases or bottles and separate your flowers into mini bouquets. Once you've decided where you want everything to go, make sure your vases are clean by trimming away any leaves that would sit below the water line and by cutting the bottom of the stems at an angle, making your flowers last longer.

When you're arranging your smaller vases, it's fairly similar to creating a larger bouquet, but you don't have to cover as much empty space. For a smaller-mouthed bottle, try an easy combination of one or two larger flowers and some foliage or filler, like baby's breath. Larger-mouthed vases can support more flowers, so simply layer and mess around with your arrangement until you create a look you enjoy.

Most people have one or two large vases lying around, but plenty of other smaller bottles or trinkets can be repurposed to hold flowers for this hack. Because of this, you'll likely have more options when it comes to creating your displays. For a look similar to Ina Garten's Instagram post, a set of small vases or jars in the same color scheme is the way to go, but there's plenty of room to get creative with your selections, too. For a more eclectic look, consider a set of well-washed, upcycled bottles that are the same color but at different heights. This way, when displayed together, all of your bouquets will be visible while still looking like part of a set. 

This approach also gives you more flexibility when decorating. Instead of only having one floral centerpiece, you have the option to move around your smaller vases throughout the day. Group them all together on the table for a dinner party, then redistribute them throughout your home in the days following for a burst of freshness in each of your rooms. Whatever you choose, you're sure to be left with a beautiful splash of floral decor.