Orchids: Silk versus Real

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Orchids 3

How do you feel about silk plants?  Are you a purist who will only allow fresh flowers in your home?  Do you frequent the silk flower section at Michaels, Hobby Lobby or Dollar Tree?  Or, are you perhaps somewhere in between?  I place myself in the latter category and in just a minute,  I will show you why.  Before I do, I wanted to show you an article that I found from Architectural Magazine.  Let me quote just a little,

“Mention fake plants to most people and the response will be outrage—artificial flora is a soulless simulacrum, they moan, a horticultural travesty, and just plain tacky. John Updike, the novelist, called them an “obscene mockery”.  Yet no less a design authority than Mario Buatta swears by potted silk orchids, saying they look like the real thing and are godsend for clients who travel so frequently they can’t keep real ones alive.”

I couldn’t agree more.  Case in point?  This little natural beauty:

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Stunning, isn’t it?  Ahem.  Actually it looked great for about 2 months I would say.  I made sure that I didn’t water it too much.  I made sure that no water ever touched the leaves.  I made sure that it wasn’t in direct sunlight, yadda, yadda, yadda.  I was quite proud of my little orchid and of my apparent green thumb.  But, like all good things, the blooms came to an end.  I was left with just that one little bloom.  After some research I learned that if I continued to care for the “plant” with just the right amount of watering, right placement, etc. it could bloom again!  In about a year.  Hmmmph.   The phrase, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” comes to mind.   Into the trash it went.

And check out the orchid that I have had for almost 10 years:

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It is still as beautiful as the day that I bought it.  The only upkeep is a light leaf-dusting every couple of months.  The only thing that I have changed is the pot color.  Teal spray paint with a bit of Minwax Ebony stain to age it.

Here is my mom’s fake orchid:

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It’s a beauty, isn’t it?  It has been looking this fabulous for 3 or 4 years now.  When my sister gave her the orchid, she started messing with the branches to reshape them, and Mom finally said, “I’m afraid that you are going to break it.”  My sister then answered, “Mom, you do know that this is fake, right?”  She didn’t.

Which makes my point perfectly.  Is it really such a travesty to have fake plants, in this case orchids, if they can forever be in bloom, looking vivid and fabulous?  My answer?  An emphatic “No!”  Of course I do still love real flowers, as well.   I’m pretty well-rounded that way.

Orchids Real Fake

So, what do you think?  Are silk plants/flowers allowed in YOUR home?

 

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17 thoughts on “Orchids: Silk versus Real”

  1. Loved your Mom’s orchid story! Thanks for the laugh!
    I agree about the fake vs. real flowers. I also like fake greenery at times. There’s no way I could brighten certain areas of my home with vines and leaves without lovely fake ones!

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    • I remembering taking pride, in the 90’s, of all of the fake floral/greenery arrangements that I had scattered throughout my home….probably close to 40 of them! I had two fake ficus trees (that my hubby hated since they were basically dust collectors) that disappeared one time when the kids and I went to Utah and my hubby stayed home.

      Now days I still have a few fake pieces that I think look just great.

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  2. Well, if Mario Buatta says so…! I think tropical plants in general lend themselves well to being fake. They look kind of waxy to begin with. I have plenty of fake in my house, but I may have to get another orchid cause yours look so good! This post was very funny 🙂

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  3. Well, if Mario Buatta says so… then I won’t feel bad about my fake orchids! My house doesn’t get a lot of light, so we have fake plants everywhere. I think the tropical ones already look waxy, and look best in their fake versions. This post was hilarious! Have a good week Sharilee 🙂

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    • I have some silk hydrangeas, as well. I also have a hydrangea bush that I pruned too far back over a year ago that is just now starting to bloom, and the bush is covered! Can’t wait to bring fresh hydrangeas in! Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. I love real and fake flowers, it’s just not possible to keep the real ones looking great all the time – that’s not natural for them! I have one real orchid I’ve had for about 4 years now and it does flower once a year, lasting a month or so. The rest of the time I have a fake flower stem which I poke in the pot next to the leaves – best of both!
    Also keeping the house full of beautiful fresh flowers all year round would be kind of expensive. I definitely think a little cheating is fine now and again!

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  8. I used orchids as a centerpiece for a bridal shower once and was quite surprised I didn’t kill the extra ones I took home. I like the silk too though.

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  11. I have to laugh because I do have a real orchid and right now it is flowerless… I love orchids but they are finicky! Thank you for sharing at Snickerdoodle. Hope to see you again tomorrow.

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