Take a peek inside a Vermont antique garden party featuring 38 vintage flower arrangements styled in crocks, pitchers, baskets, and more for seasonal decor.
Step into the charm of a Vermont antique garden party where spring blooms and vintage treasures come together in the most inspiring way.
I’m sharing 38 vintage flower arrangements styled in crocks, baskets, silver trophies, and more—each one created by vendors to celebrate the season with floral flair.
And wait until you see the incredible vintage flower press I found, plus a few favorite pieces I brought home with me!
A Favorite Vermont Antique Shop Worth the Visit
Stone House Antique Center in Chester, Vermont is one of my all-time favorite antique shops in New England. With multiple vendors and room after room of vintage treasures, I’ve never once left empty-handed. Recently, they hosted a charming garden party open house, filled with inspiring spring floral arrangements, vintage garden décor, and plenty of seasonal styling ideas to get your home ready for the warmer months. It was the perfect setting for capturing the 38 beautiful vintage flower arrangements featured in this post.
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38 Vintage Flower Arrangements to Inspire Your Seasonal Styling
Each of these vintage flower arrangements was styled by talented vendors at the Stone House Antique Center’s garden party open house in Chester, Vermont. From old watering cans and pitchers to baskets and buckets, these floral displays celebrate spring with creativity, charm, and plenty of vintage personality. Get ready for a beautiful scroll of seasonal inspiration and ideas you can recreate with your own thrifted finds.
Outdoor Flower Arrangements with Vintage Garden Charm
These welcoming outdoor flower arrangements set the tone for the garden party with pansies in stoneware pots, lilacs, and forsythia overflowing from metal watering cans, and vibrant blooms displayed on an old school desk. Accented with a bicycle wheel flower crate, vintage garden art, and a metallic bucket of purple flowers, this entry vignette captures the playful spirit of spring garden styling with vintage flair.
Try a Styling Tip!
Looking for simple, vintage-inspired decorating ideas you can try in an afternoon? Explore all my Styling Tips for easy seasonal projects, quick DIYs, and creative ways to style your home with charm.
Entryway Flower Arrangement on a Vintage Blue-Washed Table
This vintage spring arrangement greeted guests just inside the door, styled on a stunning blue and weathered gray table with eclectic character. A clear glass vase filled with tulips and forsythia, with a soft wisteria-like flow, added the perfect splash of spring color to this welcoming floral display.
Rustic Herb Arrangement in a Vintage Metal Bucket
One of the standout vendor booths featured this charming herb arrangement in a vintage metal bucket, styled atop a classic black table. The black-and-white cow print backdrop gave it a playful farmhouse flair, capturing the creative spirit of the garden party-inspired antique booth displays at this Vermont event.
Explore the Charm of Vintage, Thrifted, and Antique Living
Looking for a welcoming place to begin? Start with my Start Here page, where I share favorite vintage decorating ideas, thrifted finds, and styling inspiration from our cozy New England homes in Vermont and Coastal Maine.
Decorating with Pussy Willows: A New England Favorite
As a lifelong New Englander, pussy willow arrangements will always hold a special place in my heart. Their rustic elegance and wild charm make them perfect for vintage-style decorating. I couldn’t resist bringing home two bunches to create my own antique-inspired floral displays, and I’m sharing a few favorite styling ideas from that day.
Vintage Flower Arrangements: A Guide for Vintage Lovers
Looking for inspiration in every season? Don’t miss this full guide packed with creative floral styling ideas using antique vessels, thrifted finds, and seasonal blooms to bring vintage charm into your home all year long.
Vintage Flower Arrangements with Lilacs, Daisies, Lavender & More
From a silver champagne bucket overflowing with lilac branches to a rustic garden basket of white hydrangeas, these vintage flower arrangements showcase the timeless beauty of spring blooms. You’ll spot cheerful pink Gerbera daisies paired with delicate teacups, bold forsythia in an aged white crock, and fragrant lavender tucked into a stone planter, each styled with antique vessels to inspire your own seasonal decor.
Thrifting with the Gals
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Vintage Tulip Flower Arrangements in Antique Vessels
Tulips are a springtime favorite, and these vintage-inspired flower arrangements highlight their charm in every color. From soft pastels to bold reds and purples, each bouquet is styled in antique vessels like pitchers, ironstone crocks, and rustic baskets—perfect for adding color and character to your seasonal decor.
Recommended Reading
You may also find more tulip inspiration in this 35 Tulip Arrangements and Spring Bouquets Ideas post.
Pansy Flower Arrangements in Antique and Thrifted Finds
Pansies are a cheerful spring favorite, and they looked stunning styled in unique vintage pieces like antique chamber pots, pewter bird nests, and decorative corbels. These arrangements prove that even the most unexpected vessels can create charming floral moments full of personality and history.
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Creative Tabletop Flower Arrangements with Vintage Charm
From a sink overflowing with yellow daisies to quirky tabletop displays using vintage baskets, scales, and rusted surfaces, these antique-inspired flower arrangements are full of character. Each vignette celebrates the charm of mixing florals with unexpected, timeworn finds for a whimsical spring garden party look.
How to Start Collecting Vintage Home Decor
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Vintage Wall Flower Arrangement Ideas for Unique Display
Looking to take your florals vertical? These vintage wall flower arrangements showcase creative ways to style blooms using antique glass insulators, rustic metal containers, and even framed floral artwork. Whether it’s yellow daisies in repurposed jars or purple blooms tucked into wall-mounted vases, these ideas add instant charm to any wall space.
Antique Flower Arrangements in Metal Baskets and Crocks
As we wrap up this charming garden party at Stonehouse Antique Center, these final vintage flower arrangements bring it all together. From a weathered crock brimming with white florals and surrounded by classic ironstone, to a rustic metal basket holding a budding spring plant, these vignettes capture the joy of decorating with antique vessels.
Which arrangement was your favorite? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear what inspired you!
Next up: one of the most unique antique finds of the day, a vintage academic flower press you have to see to believe…
More Vintage Flower Arrangement Ideas You’ll Love
Looking for even more inspiration? From foraged wildflower bouquets to creative floral DIYs using unexpected antique vessels, I’ve gathered some of my favorite flower-styling blog posts just for you. Explore the full collection below and discover new ways to bring vintage floral charm into your home, season after season.
Vintage Home Decorating Guides and Styling Inspiration
Are you curious about vintage decor but don’t know where to start? These cornerstone guides are packed with seasonal styling tips, how-tos, and inspiration to help you confidently decorate with charm and character.
Discovering a Rare Vintage Plant Press from Ward’s Natural Science
One of the most fascinating antique finds from this Vermont garden party wasn’t floral at all, it was this rare vintage student plant press I spotted tucked away at the Stonehouse Antique Center. At first glance, I assumed it was an old flower press, but once I brought it home and did a little digging, it revealed a much richer story.
This vintage plant press is marked Ward’s Natural Science Establishment, Rochester, New York, a company still known today as Ward’s Science that specializes in educational tools and resources. As someone who spent years working in the educational publishing world, I was instantly drawn to this academic artifact.
After researching further, it appears this was not a decorative flower press but a functional student plant press—likely used in biology or botany classes to help students preserve and study plant specimens. While I wasn’t able to find this exact model online, all signs point to it being a classroom-issued press from decades past.
From its aged wood frame and rusted metal web strap clips (reminiscent of old military gear) to the delicate layers of worn cardboard and paper still holding the impressions of dried wildflowers, this press tells its own vintage story. Modern versions now use plastic and nylon, but this one is all charm—and a total steal at just $14!
I love the natural finish and all the antique detailing. For a closer look at how I’m styling this find and more thoughts on flower preservation, check out my dedicated post: Flower Press: Vintage Meets Academia
Today, Ward’s Science sells a modern-day student plant press, but I must say, I’m partial to the character of this well-worn gem.
How to Press Flowers and Plants Using a Vintage Plant Press
I’m so excited to experiment with this vintage student plant press, not just for display, but to actually press flowers and plants I’ve gathered throughout the seasons. From sentimental lilacs and roadside wildflowers to colorful fall leaves and herb clippings, this press offers a hands-on way to preserve nature’s beauty.
I plan to use my dried and pressed botanicals in future projects: from vintage-style framed art to creative DIY flower arrangements with a timeless, antique feel. Would you be interested in blog posts featuring flower arrangements with dried and pressed flowers? I’d love to know what you’d like to see!
Stay tuned—this plant press has many more vintage stories to tell.
Seasonal Porch Decorating with Vintage Style
From lilacs in spring to ski lodge charm in winter, this year-round guide shares how I decorate our Vermont porch with vintage style through every season. It’s packed with table settings, thrifted finds, cozy layers, and simple decorating ideas to bring timeless charm to your own outdoor space.
What Else Was in My Vintage Haul?
Of course, I couldn’t leave the antique garden party without picking up a few treasures! Here’s a peek at my vintage haul from the day, each piece full of charm and personality:
Frequently Asked Questions About Vintage Flower Arrangements
What are vintage flower arrangements?
How do I choose a vessel for a vintage floral arrangement?
Can you use vintage containers for fresh flowers?
What flowers work best in vintage arrangements?
Where can I find antique flower vases and vintage vessels?
Your Guide to Embracing Eclectic Style, Vintage Finds, and Thrifted Home Inspiration~
Love decorating with vintage finds, thrifted treasures, and eclectic charm? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below, share this post with a vintage-loving friend, or join our Reader’s Showcase Series — where we feature your favorite thrifted and antique finds. Email me at [email protected] to be part of it!
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Hi Ann
I just read your blog tonight, I live in Rochester NY and actually lived close to Wards as a kid. We had a few field trips there in grade school, so imagine my surprise to see the flower press. Yes they sold to school labs.
Enjoy reading about your home in Vermont. One of our favorite places to visit, Maine is actually our first!
Thanks for the blog, I enjoy it.
Anita
Ann,
I love all these ideas. So clever
Thanks so much Rachel!
I really enjoyed this post! I would have snatched up that fantastic vintage flower press too. Thank you for the links to some other selections!
I’m so glad Christy, thanks for stopping by!
I loved the arrangement in the clear glass vase on top of the rustic side table. Tulips and forsithia branches together just look so inviting.
I made the small flower press pictured with the four bolt adjustment over 50 years ago. Looking forward to your blog on flower drying and uses!
Jeanne
Oh I do too Jeanne, aren’t they all so rustic and fun? How wonderful that you made your own flower press. What a wonderful DIY that would be. I just pressed my first flowers! Thanks for popping in Jeanne!
Each new post seems to be better than the last one. My husband and I went and pick pussy willows in a swampy area near our home this spring . My grandmother used to have dried pussy willows that she brought out every spring when I was a child so I am hoping to create the same memories for my granddaughters. That grandmother also had a beautiful English country garden and she pressed flowers all the time but with a huge Oxford dictionary. It was exciting to help put the flower, leaves, etc. into the large book and then wait to see them after they were dried and pressed. I would be very interested in you walking me through the process with flowers out of y garden.
I look forward with anticipation for your next adventure. From Ontario, Canada – cheers.
Aww thank you kindly Linda, and adore your wonderful memories of pressing flowers. I just put some into press and am looking forward to learning more about it all too. Stay tuned, my friend!
What a lovely idea, I love flowers and a press for them would be so nice, and ideas on what to do with them. I would love it.
Wonderful! I’m going to start pressing some today! I haven’t done this since I was little. haha. Should be fun. Thanks, Marlene!
What lovely shopping you have near you. Hard to choose but the tall narrow green basket with ivy is darling and the wash stand holding yellow flowers. But the most inspirational are the turquoise glass insulators turned upside as vases and the pansies in pewter because I have those items on hand. I don’t have pewter but do have vintage aluminum ware. Are you familiar with that? Boy I would have loved being in school at a time when they taught a class using a flower press! Amazing. I would be interested in more posts about pressing flowers and using them. I used to do that a lot decades ago. Would be great to use in a nature journal started last week.
Good morning Pamela, thanks for popping in. I think the pewter with the pansies is my favorite too. I’m looking forward to adding some pansies to my mother’s hutch in Maine with her pewter collection when we get there. It’s been ages since I pressed flowers too, but I’m going to give it a try. I do have some pieces of vintage aluminum ware, it will match beautifully with the pansies. So glad you found some inspiration here today!
You are living my dream life. I would like to see ideas on what to do with the pressed flowers and ferns. I taught myself to make cyanotypes of plants so I find this very interesting. Life is so full of lovely things!
LOL, you’re so cute Kathy. I think the last time I pressed flowers was when I was young. But I’m excited to try it out again. A follower mentioned here pressing them and including them with cards. Love this idea! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by today!
Loved this post, Ann! The vintage flower press is quite the find! Yay! And I love the garden party theme! I think we should give it a go at the shop I’m in! Happy hunting!
Cara 🙂
Isn’t that so fun Cara, I love it too. You should definitely put on a garden party. It was so inviting and each booth had refreshments too!
You always find the most interesting and wonderful vintage and antique items. My mother had a friend who always included pressed flowers in cards or letters when she sent them to a friend. I still have a few pressed flowers that she sent to my mother years ago.
Ann, I love that idea so much. And that you still have some of the pressed flowers is amazing. Hang onto those. This sounds like something my mother would have done. I’d love to share this idea too. So thoughtful and I’d love to get a card with a pressed flower in it. Thanks kindly!