Old cans, mason jars find new lives as flower vases

One of Spokane artist Nona Hengen’s best-known paintings is of a bouquet of lilacs overflowing a well-worn coffee can. Lilacs are still weeks away from blooming, but you can recreate Hengen’s still life in real life by filling old cans, Mason jars or other lowly household items with spring blooms.

The makeshift vases are especially useful on May Day, a holiday when neighbors are supposed to leave small bundles of flowers on each other’s doorsteps, ring the bell and run. If Next-Door Nell takes several months to return this vessel – perhaps it got stashed next to the weed whacker you lent her last summer? – you won’t miss it like you’d miss an heirloom crystal vase.

To create a Mason jar vase, clean a glass jar and wrap wire around its lip a couple of times. The strength of the wire will depend on the weight of the jar. For a small bouquet, floral wire might work well enough, but use your best judgment. Create a handle by twisting the wire and looping it around toward the back of the jar.

Twine or ribbon work just as well. Tie it securely around the jar’s lip and create a handle by knotting it in two places toward the back.

To create a tin can vase, clean an empty can. Using a nail and hammer or the puncture tool on a can opener, poke two holes in the back of the can about two inches apart near the top. Run twine, ribbon or wire through the holes to make a handle.

There’s no need to buy new cans or jars for this project. The vases pictured here originally contained black beans and spaghetti sauce.

Fill the vases with water, being sure you use enough water to reach your flower stems, but not so much that it spills out when the vases hang from a door handle.

Flowers in a May Day bouquet should celebrate spring. Tulips. Daffodils. Whatever looks cheerful and bright. The main flowers pictured here are tulips and spider mums. The wax flower filler gives the arrangements a handpicked look.

Hanging flowers on neighbors’ doorknobs might seem like an old-fashioned tradition. But after the winter we’ve had in the Inland Northwest, who doesn’t deserve a bouquet of spring joy on their front stoop?