· It's generally not appropriate to put modern-looking calla lilies in a lusterware pitcher, any more than it is to put delicate tea roses in a black-and-white striped vase.

· Take proportion into consideration. Flowers such as violets and lilies of the valley will get lost in a large container, while long-stemmed roses or hollyhocks will overpower a little one.

· Large arrangements in garden urns or tall cylindrical vases may be suitable for entryways, mantels, and consoles--but not for the dining-room table.

· Smaller arrangements work particularly well on a cocktail or bedside table. Their portability allows for easy movement from room to room, wherever a spot of color is needed.

· Use a tea caddy to hold pink and orange dahlias.

· An etched wine goblet or Victorian lemonade cup -- relegated to the back of the cabinet by a chipped rim -- can have a second life as a container for petite arrangements.

· Fill the creamer and sugar bowl from a silver tea service to the brim with pink roses.

· Floral shops understand the appeal of storing flowers in galvanized metal buckets. It provides an easy way to keep flowers fresh before arranging them, but it also communicates a feeling of effortless bounty. The buckets look right at home on top of a casual console table or placed on a garden room étagère.

· An antique teacup is perfect for a bouquet of purple violets.

· If you prefer Asian-inspired furnishings and fabrics, chocolate cosmos arranged in white Chinese takeout cartons impart a sense of humor.

· Painted sap buckets in playful colors like lime green and robin's-egg blue add a cheery note and evoke the look of bouquets that have been freshly cut from the garden, even if their origin is the wholesale market on the corner.