Summer '09 :: Mimi's Mechanics

Party Tints

When I think about summer, the heat and humidity of the South are the first things that come to mind. That being said, my whole inspiration came from the notion of a casual, quiet gathering outdoors (a place I rarely am in this season). However, a table full of bright-colored vases and flowers (in the shade) is enough to call me out into the heat.

I bought these vases at a local Birmingham boutique and found it hard to eliminate any; they are all unique in shape and color and just right for what I had in mind. They make me so happy massed together and are such fun to play with!

If you have any on hand, mix in white or clear vases and you certainly don’t have to use this many. To act as the focal point in the center, I chose a larger white vase.

For my flowers, I selected bright, hot colors to complement the vivid orange and blue vases but also to stand out against the pale, pastel-toned ones. Use a mix of materials (for a more interesting composition) or use all one flower and let the vases steal the show!

I cut some local yard greenery, Leucothoe, which is one of my favorites for the Kelly green color of its leaves and also its lines. Added to that, the shape of the camellia leaves is sweet and their dark waxy green gives me another texture and shade of green. I began, of course, by first cleaning all the greenery and foliage from the flowers and removing grower petals from the roses and spray roses.

1. For my first flower, I placed a big purple hydrangea head, its stem cut down so the head sits on the lip of the white vase. I also used some little pieces of the purple hydrangea in other vases on either side of the middle white vase to distribute the color evenly.
2. I established some lines and a little height with a few pieces of greenery all the way down the line of vases.
3. a&b. Next, I added tulips and ranunculus to the center vase, making it fuller than the other vases, partly due to the size of the vase and also because I wanted to make the center stand out. I love using hydrangea as the base to hold up other flowers and then letting the tulips and ranunculus dance and grow out of it. Add the biggest blooms first—roses, hyacinth, dianthus, and euphorbia—and fill in with the smaller materials.
4. Keep in mind that euphorbia releases a milky substance when you pull off foliage or give its bottom a fresh cut. I cut mine over the sink and then ran water over the stem to flush the milk out so it wouldn’t pollute the water before I put it in a vase.
5. The green dianthus is small enough to cluster and using two stems in one vase has the same bushy look as the hydrangea, which I like to repeat. Then a little muscari or ranunculus bud can dance up out of it.
6. I trimmed the spray roses, cutting some of the blooms off the stem and using just single blossoms to tuck into little nooks and crannies and fill in around the bigger blooms. As I worked with the spray roses, I decided to add in the remaining stems to the center white vase to give the same effect. At the base of the tulips and ranunculus, resting slightly on the hydrangea, the spray roses give a third height to the arrangement.

There really are no rules in this design—just have fun with it! I do pay attention to spreading out evenly both the color and type of flower. I wouldn’t want two orange tulips next to each other or two hot pink roses adjacent. I constantly check each vase from all sides, turning them and fixing even the smallest of spaces and fitting a little something in every nook and cranny. Maybe a ranunculus bud or little muscari tops it off and provides that finishing touch! Muscari are my favorites to add to a composition like this. I clustered three together in the small fat pot at the end.

All flowers work for bud vases—just be sure you can work the stems in the mouth of your vase. The hydrangeas and euphorbia were a snug fit. I like using different colored vases and flowers. It just looks like a party!

Here, I lined them up on a summer linen tablecloth at the back of a farm table as if for a luncheon shower with gifts in front of them. For a baby shower, you could use all pink or blue flowers and for a wedding brunch, all whites and greens. Group several of these for a table centerpiece or line them down the length of a table as shown. All these vases can stand alone as well, so spread the love if your occasion so demands. Perfect for powder rooms, bedside tables, or a desk—just one will do!

• Purple hydrangea
• Hot Pink ranunculus
• Orange tulips
• Dianthus
• Purple Muscari
• Purple Hyacinth
• Kilo roses
• Isle spray roses
• Euphorbia
• Yard greenery (Leucothoe, camellia foliage, etc.)

• Snips

Pick up our Summer 2009 issue (on stands this month)
to see Mimi’s colorful completed design

Summer 2009 | By Mimi Brown | Photos by Jason Wallis