Right now, spring flowers — tulips, daffodils, and the like — are really popping. Maybe you’re lucky enough to have your own cutting garden, or maybe the grocery store is your equivalent of a fresh flower market. Either way, spring calls for floral centerpieces, and if you’re into putting together your own in a cute flower vase, here’s a piece of advice you probably never expected to hear: Baby’s breath might be the flower your seasonal arrangements are missing.
That’s right: Will Coss, executive producer and vice president of Macy’s Studios, used baby’s breath — aka Gypsophila, a “filler” flower maybe best known for pairing up with traditional red roses — to create the stunning floral displays at the brand’s 49th annual Flower Show at the New York City flagship store earlier this month.
According to Coss, over 16,000 fresh blooms were used in the expo, including trendy ranunculus and amaranth, hyacinth, roses, and several varieties of orchids mainly in a warm palette of reds, oranges, pinks, and yellows.
“We wanted to lean into a dynamic naturalism with an unstructured feel,” Coss told Apartment Therapy about this year’s Flower Show, which was inspired by the first signs of spring and the brilliance of bold red. “Baby’s breath helped us achieve that. Not only does it lend texture to an arrangement, but it also creates definition and is a useful tool for achieving volume and a dynamic display.”
The other great thing about baby’s breath? It’s relatively inexpensive — I found the huge, 100-stem bundles shown below at Costco for $10 each this past weekend. Baby’s breath isn’t super fragrant either, making it perfect for all of your brunch, dinner, and cocktail party needs.
So if your centerpiece seems a little sad, try baby’s breath to bulk it up. And consider elevating the look of a bunch of baby’s breath with some kind of natural dye or food coloring to get a look similar to what Coss and his team of artists did at Macy’s. That’ll make sure your spring arrangements are vivid and modern.
