Your CartHave you ever had a floral emergency? You know……you suddenly need to have some kind of attractive flower arrangement, in a hurry, and you have a minimum of flowers?
Well, this is what happened to me for this Floral Friday!
In this post I’ll share how to combine good quality faux flowers with a few “real” ones to make a statement Harvest Floral Arrangement. No one will be able to tell parts of your floral gorgeousness aren’t real!
Shhhh….it will be our secret!
If this is your first time joining my floral loving friends Pam, Shirley and Mary and myself for Floral Friday, I want to WELCOME you! We’re so glad you are here, fellow flower aficionado – and hope you will stay awhile.
Be sure to visit each friend, I will show you how to at the bottom of this post, you won’t want to miss their inspirational flowers!
I’m just going to confess to all of you right up front – just like Pooh Bear, this week I seem to be of very little brain! We have a million things going on at once at FrenchGardenHouse, and we’re also hosting three “entertaining” type events at home and going out of town in the midst of all that, too.
Which I love, but obviously I have too much in my head…… or maybe nothing at all.
I wasn’t thinking straight when I prepared for Floral Friday. I bought flowers. I styled a table setting. I took photos. I wrote a post for all of you!
But…eek…it was the wrong one. You can see that one in two weeks, when it was actually scheduled.
And this meant that I suddenly had a flower emergency, because time was running out to prepare this Harvest Arrangement post. Our garden is practically bare this time of year, so no bountiful flowers to cut from there. I had a skinny bunch of spider mums from the grocery store. really skinny.
So this is where my secret came in! FAUX FLOWERS! Yes, I know…..
Nothing divides a room full of flower enthusiasts like the question of faking it. Is it a sin? Will you, my dear readers and friends, stop reading me because I dared combine faux and real flowers for this Floral Friday post ?!
You know I love an abundance of fresh flowers, but I can see the benefits of using a blended mix of faux and real flowers at times.
When my eldest daughter got married, the girl had her heart set on huge arrangements at the altar with pristine white hydrangeas tucked in amidst roses, lilies and other white flowers. Huge hydrangeas. They were not only almost impossible to get at that time of year, they cost a whopping 18.00 a stem for the size we needed! And we needed 40 or more just for those two arrangements alone.
It was my first love affair with inserting luxury fine quality faux flowers in with real flowers. { Honestly, those wedding altar arrangements were unbelievably stunning. And not a single person knew the hydrangeas weren’t real.}
I hope you open your mind to the more glamorous side of faux petals.
I made this arrangement that captures the feel of the harvest season to help inspire you to make your own versions for any autumn gathering. The use of spice colored flowers spilling out from this antique French glass apothecary jar adds a harvest time touch to my living room.
HERE ARE A FEW TIPS FOR COMBING SILK AND REAL FLOWERS:
{and make them look incredible!}
1. CHOOSE REALISTIC LOOKING FLOWERS. Choose silk flowers in shapes and types that occur in nature. If you start with a true-to-nature palette, combining artificials with real flowers will make a seamless and lifelike-look much easier to achieve.
2. CONSIDER HOW THE FLOWERS FEEL. If the flowers feel soft, instead of like plastic, they are likely to fool even the most observant eye.
3. MIX IN ACCENT GREENERY. Here is where you can really fool Mother Nature! Real floral arrangements usually use greenery to ground the arrangement. In my large Harvest arrangement for today, I not only used silk greens, it’s the berried eucalyptus from a tree in my street that really makes this arrangement look real.
4. USE FLOWERS IN SEASONAL COLORS. Nothing says “fake” than a bunch of brightly colored spring blooms in the middle of fall. Stick to the seasonal colors that are occurring in nature, and your arrangements will always look appropriate.
5. CUT FAUX STEMS TO THE RIGHT SIZE. If your container isn’t see through, you can bend them if you don’t want to clip them with wire cutters. But in this antique glass apothecary jar, I cut all the stems of the silk flowers to size.
6. LIMIT THE DISPLAY TIME. Real flowers don’t last forever. So your “faux” floral mixes shouldn’t either. I will keep this one for about 1-2 weeks, then replace with real flowers again.
Silk flowers, when mixed with real flowers and greenery can work wonders in a pinch. Arranged tastefully, it can be really hard to tell if they are real.
The moral of this story is – don’t be afraid to experiment with adding faux and fresh flowers in the same arrangement. I was very happy with how this “silly me disaster” turned out. So happy – that I left this arrangement out for one of our dinner parties this week.
Guests couldn’t believe the whole bouquet wasn’t real! {yes, I did tell them!} And the best part? When the star fresh flowers started to droop and the eucalyptus began to dry, I was able to remove them and save my perfect fall bouquet for another day!
Thank you so much for visiting me today…it’s always such a joy when you are here. I hope we inspire you to create a beautiful flower arrangement at home to delight as you create lasting memories this autumn, surrounded by people you love the most.
Be sure to visit my three friends, who no doubt will dazzle you with their REAL fresh floral harvest arrangements!
Shirley at Housepitatity Designs
et moi Lidy at FrenchGardenHouse
I’d love to know, do you faux? or NO?
Lidy, You combined the faux and real flowers seamlessly! I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. I’m oohing and ahhing over your beautiful fall vignette with the antique French glass apothecary jar as a vase, shed antlers, wonderful jacquard cloth and handsome bowls.
I had a chuckle over your ‘Pooh Brain’ and one of my favorite A.A. Milne quotes: “When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.” 😉
Thank you for another beautiful Floral Friday. It’s always a treat to start my Friday mornings with you!
Your floral mix is lovely and totally realistic Lidy. I have mixed real and faux too with great results. I love my floral paintings, the flowers on my china and fabrics. It is only natural that I regard beautiful faux flowers an ode to mother natures perfection.
Hi Julie,
What a perfect way to put that, “an ode to mother nature’s perfection” I love that!
Lidy, I would not have known your flowers were faux! They look natural and mixed with other real greenery and flowers your arrangement is lovely. Your vignette is delightfully styled with your signature antique pieces and creative touch.
Life is real and I admire all of you gals for your dedicated time for Floral Fridays. Every time Floral Friday rolls around, I think, how do they do it!!!!
Thanks for the inspiration.
Well you are the master of disguise!….If you did not tell us, no one would have ever thought that this gorgeous arrangement had faux flowers!….Yes, the investment of high quality faux flowers are definitely worth it…so many people shy away from the “faux floral arrangement” however, when just buying stems to place in to an arrangement of real greens, etc makes a most magnificent arrangement….and when the greenery and other items have seen its day, the beautiful flowers remain waiting for the next exquisite arrangement you create!…Stunning Lidy!….have a great weekend friend!
Lidy, I would have never guessed in a million years that your gorgeous arrangement incorporated faux flowers! I truly cannot tell the difference. Your autumn vignette is styled with your discerning eye which is always amazing. Oh my, the cloth caught my attention immediately, it is stunning.
I love that you quote Pooh who happens to be one of my sweet granddaughter’s favorite characters, and I must admit I have always had a soft spot for the “tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff.” It is a pleasure to share Floral Friday with you sweet friend!
Happy Floral Friday Pam! Thank you so much, these “faux” are actually some of my very favorites yet, the wild raspberry stems have little “prickles” and everything. I love Pooh, and his rumbly rumbly too! Sometimes it’s good to go back to those sweet childhood days, it’s one of the many joys of children and grandchildren. Wishing you a gorgeous weekend, xo Lidy
No need to convince me Lidy, I often combine real and faux, and if you do it well, no one notices! I think the real elements make the faux elements look even better! I loved your wedding flower story, that is brilliant! Your arrangement is lovely as always, and I love the way you’ve styled the cloth. I am often “of little brain!”
your arrangement is so pretty Lidy and not to worry. your secret is safe with me.
Stunning flowers bouquet!Hugs!
A few fake flowers in a vase of greenery out of the garden – and who would know??
Stunning vignette!
Thank you Rita!
What a pretty vignette! We have some allergy issues here, so there are times when I just can’t bring real flowers in, so I would be lost without faux or a mix of real and faux. I really appreciate your tips. I also have some great faux grapes that I sometimes mix with real fruit too. (Another allergy solution!)
Where would we be without the wisdom of Pooh?