Taking Care Of Artificial Flowers

I am all about flowers!

It one of my absolute extravagances, to fill my home with flowers. Not only for their beauty and delicious smells, but for how they can make a room sing. Walking into a room of flowers makes me happy, it just does. Walking into an actual florist - well, you don’t want to be around for all that squealing! So when I say the words 'artificial flowers' I am sure it conjures up some uninspiring images in your head. But shut those down, the flowers that can be found these days are nothing short of spectacular, and Provincial Home Living have a range of artificial blooms to inspire.

Artificial flowers are great in Winter. However, I think it's best that you choose artificial flowers where their 'real life' counterparts are actually in season. For example, in Winter you wouldn't have peonies and in Summer you don’t have hyacinths! Keep to the seasons and you won’t run into any ‘are you faking it?’ questions. In Winter real flowers will wilt in the heat if you have your heaters on, but artificial won’t, and that in itself will save you a lot of money!

Don’t go crazy and mix too many different varieties together, otherwise it just screams fake - treat them as you would real flower. Keep the palettes simple, and get creative with your vases. Feel free to cut and trim your stems to fit the vases you have chosen. Don’t be scared to tweak the petals; they are pliable, so shape them to suit and have a little fun with them.

Artificial flowers are a decorators dream, as long as you take good care of them, they will give you years of styling around the home. There are a few little tips and tricks I can share with you to keep your artificial flowers in peak condition, and you only need to do it a couple of times a year.

What you’ll need

Warm Water
Dishwashing Detergent
Tea towel
Wash Cloth
Bowl

Method

Pour water and detergent in the bowl
Dip flower in the water then shake off the excess water, leave it out to dry on a tea towel. Don't be too rough!
Dip your washcloth in the water and wipe down your flowers, making sure you get all the dust out of the crevices and from the stem.

A few more tips

For flowers in a pot just wipe down.
Move the leaves and petals about so the flowers look fresh again.
Put water in the vase! Don’t leave it empty - don’t fill it with marbles, don’t fill it with sand but you can use fresh moss.
Always wash the vases when washing the flowers. You will be surprised how much dust they gather.
A little trick I have up my sleeve with real orchards is that when the flowers have died I put an artificial one into the plant. No one knows it's fake!

For more inspiring life-like seasonal artificial florals please visit Provincial Home Living.