Fake flowers?

[k3am]

DH usually buys me Peruvian Lilies from Costco and those will last ~2 weeks. 

A couple of times he's gotten bouquets from a pop up vendor at work, and I absolutely love them. But not the price. And they wilt reaaaaaaaaaaaaal quick - the bouquet he bought Friday was 1/2 gone by Sunday, and the rest limped through until Tuesday. So definitely not worth it. 

I would love to replicate the most recent bouquet in fake flowers, but only if they actually looked generally realistic. Any suggestions on where to find something?

We have faux succulents from Crate & Barrel and they actually look better than any real succulents I've tried to grow, but they didn't seem to have a huge selection of actual flowers/arrangements. 

Similar to these:

[nicolewi]

Pier One usually has really nice fake flowers. However, they are filing for bankruptcy protection, so hurry. Our local store is closing.

[k3am]

nicolewi, did not know about the BK.. Guess I should probably spend my gift cards that I've been hoarding for years.

[bhnumbers]

IMO, fake flowers always look fake. I buy flowers on a semi-regular basis from Trader Joe's--whatever catches my eye that looks pretty. Some last a long time, some don't. If you trim the stems and change the water everyday (something I almost never do) you can extend the life.

[Deleted]

I've never really seen fake flowers that I thought "wow, they look so real", so if that is the look, you may have a tough time. That said, I love fresh flowers and tend to buy mine at Produce Junction and get a mix. Certain types of flowers last longer than others, so as stuff starts to die in the arrangement, I take it apart and then rearrange with the stuff that is still fresh/alive. This coupled with changing the water frequently usually gets me 7-10 days, if not longer.

[Susie]

IMO the biggest problem with fake flowers is ultimately dust.  It totally kills the illusion of realness, and it's hard to avoid.

I have turned to actual plants instead.  They're not always flowering, but sometimes they are, and even when they're not they make me happier than fake.  And I at least like the idea that they're doing better things for the air quality than fake ones.

[gaudi]

Have you looked at clay flower arrangements? Maybe you could have a custom piece created.

[k3am]

With the exception of my office desk plant, I have killed everything I've tried to grow.

I'll check out Pier 1, but if that's a bust, it looks like I'm sticking with my boring lilies. Womp Womp.

[bunnies]

Michaels, Hobby Lobby, & Joann all have fake flowers (and sales!). Some are more realistic than others. Typically the single stems look better than the flowers that come in a bouquet.

[majesty318]

Etsy has some very real looking (and feeling) fake flowers

[carmenere]

I've heard good things about afloral.com but haven't ordered. I've been thinking about getting some fake hydrangeas for one of my jars. But Susie is right about the dust. My MIL has a bunch of fake flowers around her house and the dust and gradual discoloration (I think they're probably 5-10 years old) make them look awful.

[k3am]

carmenere , your MIL needs to clean her fake flowers, just like everything in life needs to be cleaned.

ETA: My inlaws also have a ton of stuff around their house that they just... don't clean for some reason. My mom is the authority in cleaning, so I grew up that way, but it just doesn't occur to my inlaws that stuff like light switches need to be wiped down.

[nicolewi]

I was at TJ Maxx today and remembered that TJ Maxx/Home Goods often have some nice ones, too!

[dr.girlfriend]

When I was in Amsterdam they had fake flowers that looked SO real I literally spent long minutes touching and smelling them to make sure they were fake. I brought a ton home in my suitcase and they fool everyone who sees them. They are made of silicone. I posted about them on here back when I got them and people linked to some silicone flowers on Amazon. Maybe they are worth a try? They have not gotten dusty and I could just wash them off if they did. Only negative was that they smelled like a brand-new sex toy for the first few weeks. 😂 I have bought pretty expensive fake flowers from Pottery Barn and they are NOT convincing. I should add that my convincing ones are tulips, so that may help them look real too in comparison to more “ruffled” flowers. I’ll try a pic when I’m home.

[dr.girlfriend]

pandce.proboards.com/thread/586868/holy-grail-fake-flowers

ETA:  Updated the original post with new pictures since Tinypic died.

[bhnumbers]

Feb 21, 2020 12:20:29 GMT -5 k3am said:

carmenere , your MIL needs to clean her fake flowers, just like everything in life needs to be cleaned.

ETA: My inlaws also have a ton of stuff around their house that they just... don't clean for some reason. My mom is the authority in cleaning, so I grew up that way, but it just doesn't occur to my inlaws that stuff like light switches need to be wiped down.

My mom is like this and I can't decide if it's old age or I just didn't notice it growing up. Every time I visit her house, I take a lysol wipe and/or a magic eraser to the light switches and the area around door knobs on the doors that has gotten dingy and dirty.