In praise of bud vases

It's spring in 11 days – and if you're like me, you're aching for greenery. This transitional time of year is a test of patience in Toronto. Winter keeps returning and returning, until an explosion of colour and heat takes you right into summer at the very last minute.

You can ease the path from one season to the next by bringing home some flowers. No need to get fancy. For less than twenty dollars, your local grocery store likely has a bouquet worth picking up. It's a cheap form of therapy when the world outside keeps insisting on grey.

After months of colour deprivation, though, a typical mixed bunch can seem a little... much. For example, here's an arrangement I brought home yesterday afternoon:

Put this in a hefty vase and the whole thing might seem too gaudy and ostentatious for the middle of March.

That's where bud vases come in. They're the less showy relatives of regular vases and they're just perfect for this awkward moment.

Remember when I explained how side table books are the more interesting cousins of coffee table books? Bud vases are the floral equivalent. They give your room a lift without making it look like you're trying too hard.

With some delicate surgery, you can take apart a store-bought bouquet and come up with just the right stem for each corner of your home. Combine each bloom with a bud vase that complements it and you're welcoming spring in thoughtful bursts rather than an all-out detonation.

Here's how my grocery store bouquet became smaller scenes in various rooms:

The beauty of bud vases is that they don't have to be made for that purpose. Sure, you can find intentional versions that rise to the level of high art. Take this handblown Mdina vase from Malta, inspired by the Mediterranean and now available at Atomic Design:

But any small vessel can be a bud vase – and this simple fact is a call to get creative. Right now Williams Design has a cabinet full of fast-disappearing laboratory glassware that is waiting for your inventiveness. A Pyrex flask will lend a bit of mad-scientist brio to even the shyest flower.

Why not go further? A jar, a teacup, a beer bottle, a champagne flute. Once you get caught up in the possibilities, you'll forget winter's grim persistence. By the time you step outside, you'll be wearing shorts.