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.