I haven’t found a place for a tulipiere in any of my books yet, but I wanted to share a brief post on this elegant topic.

Easy Flower Arranging

Several years ago I took a flower arranging class–and loved it. One of our arrangements was a modern architectural design. (And sorry, I couldn’t find a picture though I know I must have taken one.) My kids loved the design, but all the foam and wiring involved more structural work than I would normally commit to.

A tulipiere would have made the display so much easier. This specialty vase has built-in architecture in its multiple spouts and openings.

Wikipedia says that tulipieres were used to grow tulip bulbs indoors. I’m not sure how that would work, but for flowers, especially the limp-stemmed variety, it’s perfect.

Delftware

The Wall Street Journal, (in an article unfortunately behind a pay wall) says that in the seventeenth century, all sorts of flowers were displayed in tulipieres, not just tulips.

Many of the most beautiful tulipieres were Delftware, made in Holland. The Delft manufacturers made vases for Queen Mary II of England, who ruled England with her husband, the Dutch William of Orange.

Here’s a link to a Google page with images. I think anyone of these would work well with the floppy-stemmed English roses I grow in my garden.

Do you love to display flowers? Share your best arrangements in the comments!

Images: available at Wikimedia Commons via Creative Commons license.