There are times when you walk into a room and there is a feeling that the room is pretty dead and you don’t get that home feeling. Other times you walk into a room and the atmosphere is alive and you feel great. The reason the room feels so alive and bright is simple, flowers. You may think its always fresh flowers but I can assure you that more often than not these days those will be artificial flowers. There’s good reason that good artificial flowers have become more popular in recent time. They have many many advantages over fresh flowers and they have become ever more convincing in their appearance

Unlike a fresh bouquet of flowers which are only going to last you around a week, a bouquet of imitation flowers are going to be there for as long as you want them to be. Maybe forever. They are not going to die after a week and need replacing. Think of you money that could be saved not having to splash out on flowers every week. That money could be better spend elsewhere and not wasted on something that doesn’t last.

With artificial flowers there is always going to be flowers in your home, or at your place of work. If you forget to replace your fresh flowers all the time then that’s not going to be a problem, as the only time you need replace the fake flowers is when you get fed up with what they look like. Is your wedding approaching? You could use silk for your wedding flowers.

Unlike a fresh plant an artificial one needs almost no care to keep it looking good. The only thing you need to do is keep the dust off of the leaves. There’s no need to keep watering them to keep them alive and no need to trim them to keep them under control and keep them looking fresh. If you are a busy professional and have a small garden or rooftop garden then artificial flowers are ideal. They look great and at night illuminated by garden lights no one will be able to tell the difference.

Artificial flowers are also clean and hygienic. They don’t attract insects, ideal if you want flowers in your kitchen, no insects flying around your food. They also don’t go rotten and create a bad smell. No old rotten water and no dead leaves rotting on your table or window ledge.

Imitation flowers really do have some great points and great for those of us who have no time or interest to take care of fresh flowers or plants. The other sections of this site are going to cover some of the other types of artificial flowers available.

One of the main problems I have personally with imitation flowers is that they don’t smell anything like the real thing. Florists, manufacturers and retailers try their hardest to scent the flowers with something close to what a fresh flower smells like. But there are so many factors and subtle nuances involved in the natural smell that they just cant get it right. How do you capture summer days and nature in a spray bottle? Its just not possible. And until it becomes possible then fresh plants and flowers are going to be top the class.

Next in line is looks, silk flowers have come a long way in the looks department from a few years ago when you didn’t even need a second to consider whether or not the plant in front of you was real or not. These days it really does take a closer look to determine the authenticity of the flowers before us. Though they still don’t have it perfect, fresh flowers still have the edge. There’s all those little details that nature has perfected over the years that man cant quite re-create.

We also have to consider the effect artificial flowers have in our home. Could we, as home owners, be looked at as being lazy for having fake flowers in our home? We can’t be bothered to look after real flowers so opt for the easy option and take the flowers that once you have sat them where you want them, have to do no more. Or could we be seen as being cheap, not being willing to spend money on a fresh bouquet of flowers every now and then and just buy the one off and save our money.

Continuing with the lazy point, if we are too lazy and we don’t do the little caring that fake flowers need, that being dusting and cleaning down, then they end up looking terrible and bring down the rest of your home with them. With real flowers, while they might not last long, this is a bonus as they aren’t alive long enough to gather dust. They die and we replace them with another bunch that fresh and looking beautiful.

There are quite a lot of disadvantages to having or using artificial flowers. To me, real flowers are always going to be first choice, the natural choice, the freshness they add to any room they are added to is impossible to replace. I’m not saying there are no advantages to artificial flowers, there are many, have a look at the other articles on the site, or anywhere else online. They might be just what are are after, or maybe they wont be.

Firstly I am going to consider artificial flowers and how they effect your work place and your or your clients moods.

First of all, are you type of person who has the time or the dedication to look after real live plants? Most of the time we just don’t have the time at work to go around checking all the plants are OK, have a good supply of water, light and air etc. This is where artificial or silk flowers come in. They require no really care what so ever. Since they are not living objects they don’t need light, they don’t need to be watered at the correct intervals, they don’t need watered at all and they don’t need fresh air to keep them alive. Silk flowers just keep going and going. The only maintenance you need to do is to keep them clean. You don’t want a build up for dust and dirt to effect you or your work performance.

If you get tired of looking at the same flowers all the time and decide you want a change then its not a problem. If you buy a new plant you can store the silk flowers away until you fancy using them again. Or even using them in a different place, take them home, give them to a work colleague.

Also if you have a favourite variety of flower you want and cant get them fresh because they are not in season then you can opt of  silk flowers instead, they are not effected by season and you can have any flower you want, when ever you want. A summer bouquet with Carnations and Gladioli in the dead of winter? Then that’s not a problem with silk flowers.

The downsides to artificial flowers is that they don’t have that scent that fresh flowers have. Of course they come scented but it just isn’t the same. They also don’t give off that same feeling in the air around them.

This is where fresh flowers excel, as soon as you walk into a room with a lovely fresh bouquet or new potted plant you know its there. There is that wonderful smell that you just cant recreate, no matter how hard we try. And there’s they feel and atmosphere that fresh plants create. There is no way you are going to get that from artificial plants or flowers.

While silk flower have really moved forward regarding how they look, they just don’t have that same class and finesse that real plants do.

Sadly you have got to look after fresh potted plants, making sure they have enough water, light and air for them to survive. If you have time and have an interest in keeping your plants looking good then this isn’t a problem. If you cant be bothered with the hassle then you might be better taking artificial flowers. For me silk flowers have their place, but there really is no substitute for the real thing.

Before I started to write this I was under the impression that fresh flowers were going to walk all over their silk counterparts, but after some research it turns out it’s a close match.

Artificial flowers really do have advantages over fresh flowers. If you suffer from allergies do you really want to run the risk of having red eyes, be sneezing or have a rash on  your big day? With silk flowers this problem is overcome, there are nothing in them that’s going to cause any sort of irritations.

Silk flowers really have moved forward in recent times, when you look at artificial flowers you really are hard pushed to tell the difference between them and real flowers. They just look so similar now. Not only that, the beauty of the flowers can be kept forever, silk isn’t going to fade or wilt in time, so you are always going to have them to look at in years to come, to bring back those wonderful memories. You also have the choice of reusing those flowers in the future. Whether you would want to or not is up to you.

If you opt for the fresh variety for your wedding day you are limited by what season we are currently in. Certain flowers are restricted to growing at specific times of the year, if the flower you love isn’t in season then its going to be very hard to get it for your wedding. Silk doesn’t go in and out of season, so your choices are limitless. Not only have go unlimited choices on the flowers you want they are going to cost less than the real thing. Saving you money when planning the wedding might let you spend it elsewhere.

Its not all bad news for fresh flowers though, they do have their advantages. If you are into following tradition, then there is only one option for you. Artificial flowers will never take that title away from fresh. There’s also that scent! Artificial flowers may come scented, but there really is no comparison to the smell of real flowers.

While silk flowers look very similar to real ones, there is still something about the look of the real thing that just sets something off in the mind. They just look great.

There are some more downsides though, fresh flowers really have to be looked after on the days up to the wedding for them to be looking at their prime. If something happens are the florist that means they are not stored under optimal conditions then they may just go off before the weddings gets under way.

At the end of the day the final decision comes down to how the bride feels, if she wants traditional then there’s only 1 option, is she’s not bothered about that then there are plenty of pros and cons to consider for each. Speaking to a florist in person may make that choice easier.