first of all this comes in a little toolbox and there are so many pieces. we really only need 3-5 pieces at once. So I give a stem of 4 flowers to friends so they can have some. Secondly it really through me off guard because the flowers don't stack very closely together, there's huge space between each level of flower but I'm used to it now. My 18-month old does not use the base pieces (the garden bed pieces)