I love house plants and their sense of bringing the outside in, and the way the greens soften a rooms vibe with their sense of lushness. But oh dear keeping them alive is another matter! The only place they survive and thrive is my kitchen where I can keep an eye on them. Anywhere else and I forget to tend to their needs. My biggest success rate at the moment is ‘mind your own business’ (soleirolia soleirolii), which I’ve never seen as a faux plant, and my top tip is to have a layer of gravel at the bottom of the decorative pot and keep that topped up with some water so it’s always sitting in moisture. Works for me anyway.
This is where faux house plants and flowers come into their own, they don’t look at me sadly with their guilt inducing misery. And with the ever increasing choice of faux greenery and flowers we are spoilt for choice, whether you want something small and dainty, or a big show stopper to bring drama to a room, it’s all there. I have several large faux house plants in my garden room as it gets a lot of sunshine and most real plants can’t tolerate it, plus I can’t tolerate the incessant watering. The wallpaper is a green palm leaf print and the large faux plants enhance the feeling of a tropical paradise, which is not something I would be able to create with real plants.
Here are my 5 tips for choosing faux house plants and flowers, for an ongoing fabulous display that brings joy, and banishes the guilt.
1. Choose Hard to Care for Varieties
If you like to have some real plants in the mix then choose hard to care for varieties for your faux. Ferns are hard to keep alive as they require moist shaded conditions, which isn’t necessarily where you want to display house plants, so they’re a great option to go fake with. The birds nest fern is a tricky customer (I’ve killed several) so save yourself the anxiety and invest in our Artificial Bird’s Nest Fern instead.
2. Bring in Some Glamour
Peachy pink pampas grass stems grouped together in a vase somehow evokes a slightly decadent glamorous look that works for any style of interior. Not strictly faux as is it’s a natural grass that has been dried but hey it’s the same idea, the wow factor without the effort. Such an easy way to fill a large vase that would cost a fortune in real flowers, and so beautifully textural.
3. Don’t Overlook Foliage
Consider artificial foliage stems – they are great for having around the house to bulk out real bunches of flowers. That way you are just paying for the flowers and always have delicious faux greenery to fill out your bouquets. Artificial Trailing Spanish Moss lends a quirky look to your floral display and is also great for softening the edges of a mantelpiece or shelf, or trailing from up high where you can’t water a real plant.
4. Realistic isn’t Always Best!
It doesn’t have to be realistic to look amazing. Our Fabulous Faux Gold Fern Bush makes a statement and is proud to be faux. Charismatic and dazzling for an eye-catching display, with just a touch of kitsch.
5. Go Big for Maximum Impact
We do like a bit of impact with our house plants at Audenza and our luscious Artificial Bird of Paradise Plant is certainly that. It’s big, it’s bold, and no TLC required, just a quick dust occasionally, which is the best bit about faking it. Maximum impact for maximum drama! And no worry that it might suddenly die on you!
To sum up the faux versus real dilemma, just mix it up. It’s a no brainer really, and cheaper in the long run. The more the real and the artificial are mixed up together the less you can tell which is which, and your friends and family will think you have fabulously green fingers and will want to know your secrets.
Any tips of your own to add to the list?