Bud vase: a single stem, well chosen and well placed

A bud vase is a vase made for a single flower. You put in one stem, and that stem is what you look at. Our small porcelain vases, 10.5 to 18 cm tall, play this role with a dried stem, a branch or an artificial flower, without water. Here is how to choose the stem, its length and the spot for the vase.

What a bud vase is

The dictionary of the Académie française defines the soliflore, the French word for a bud vase, as a narrow-necked vase designed to hold a single flower. The word dates from the 20th century. It joins two Latin words: “solus”, alone, and “flos”, flower.

So a bud vase is small, and often narrow. It does not try to fill a table. It shows one thing: a stem, its curve, its colour.

Our porcelain vases are small coloured vases. Their product page gives the diameter of the vase: 9 to 12 cm. It does not give the diameter of the opening. So check when you receive it how many stems fit. A single stem always fits.

One stem, no water

The classic bud vase holds a fresh flower in water. Our vases are not designed for this use. The manufacturer intends them for dry decoration, and does not say whether they hold water. We do not recommend them for a fresh flower or for a living plant.

Here is what goes well in a dry bud vase:

• A dried stem: an ornamental grass, a stem of lavender, a dried umbel. It gives a fine line and soft tones.
• A decorative branch: a small bare branch, or a branch of dried foliage. It gives a curve.
• An artificial flower: a tulip, for example. It keeps its colour and needs nothing. Our guide to artificial tulips helps you choose one.

Choose a stem that has a shape: a curve, a clearly visible head, branching. In a bud vase, a shapeless stem goes unnoticed.

The right stem length

The horticultural library of the University of Washington cites a rule of flower arranging: the height of the flowers does not exceed one and a half times the height of the vase. For a bud vase, aim for about this measurement.

The length is measured from the bottom of the vase. Cut the stem a little longer than planned, put it in, then trim again if needed. A stem that is too long makes the vase unstable. A stem that is too short disappears into the opening.

Where to put a bud vase

A bud vase goes where a bouquet would take up too much room.

• On a desk, next to the screen. One stem is enough, and it does not get in the way.
• On a bedside table, next to a lamp.
• On a windowsill, out of direct sun. A dried stem fades in the sun.
• On a stack of books, or on a tray, with a candle or a small stone.
• On a worktop, away from the sink and splashes.

The small green vase, wider than it is tall, is the most stable. It suits places where people often reach past it.

Several bud vases on a table

On a long table, several bud vases in a line make a light runner. Each guest sees a stem, and the conversation passes over the top. It is a different idea from a tight group of three vases.

• Space them evenly, for example one vase between two place settings.
• Keep the stems low, below the eye level of a seated person.
• Vary only one thing: the height of the vases, or the colour of the stems, not both at once.

On a shelf or a console table, vases are better grouped as a duo or a trio, at different heights. The rules are in our guide arranging a duo or trio of vases.

Our yellow duo brings together the 15 and 18 cm vases. With a stem in the taller one and nothing in the smaller one, it already forms a small arrangement.

The colour of the vase and the stem

In a bud vase, the vase is as visible as the stem. Choose one or the other as the focal point.

• Coloured vase, neutral stem. A beige grass in a yellow or pink vase: the vase stays the statement piece.
• Vase and stem in the same family. A pink tulip in the pink vase: the whole looks taller.
• Green vase, pale stem. A white or cream stem stands out well against the green.

Care

Clean the vase with a soft cloth, dry or barely damp, as its product page says. Take the stem out before cleaning it.

A dried stem gathers dust. Our guide to dried flowers in a vase explains how to remove it without breaking the fine strands, and when to change the stem. An artificial flower is dusted with a dry cloth.

All our vases are on the design vases page.

In short

1. A bud vase holds a single stem, and that stem is what you look at.
2. In our porcelain vases: a dried stem, a branch or an artificial flower, without water.
3. The stem measures about one and a half times the height of the vase.
4. Check the opening when you receive it: the product page does not give it.
5. On a long table, line up several bud vases with low stems.

Sources

• Soliflore, Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9e édition
• Flower arrangement tips, Elisabeth C. Miller Library, University of Washington
• Manufacturer data sheets for the vases (dimensions, material, intended use)