Francesca Di Dino, founder of one of Sydney’s leading floral creative agencies, shares her tips on which faux florals to buy, where to buy them and how to style them for the most convincing results.
Select the highest in quality
Where you can, purchase silk or fabric real touch faux florals which mimic the texture, look, colour and attention to detail of the real deal. Not only will they look like authentic flowers, but they will also feel real to touch.
At our creative floral agency, The Yard & Co., we work with faux flower suppliers Koch & Co. and Florabelle Living as we believe they provide the highest quality real touch faux florals in Australia. Both companies cater to the public, industry contacts and wholesale orders. We’d highly recommend them. We rely on their expert craft to ensure our designs and builds are of the best standard for our clients.
Colour
Different shades are key! Real plants and flowers rarely have one consistent tone, which builds depth and creates unique colours that are authentic only to naturally grown produce. So, when purchasing faux florals, find the exact flower shades and purchase the authentic colours of the florals you are trying to recreate. This is a key factor in determining how realistic your design looks.
Another way to be selective of colour is not only through the florals, but also through their leaves and stems! Usually, the quality and colour give the faux away from the real, sometimes more so than the flowers themselves. The same way you would with the authentic flower colour pallete, ensure you are matching your stems and leaves to the original style and testing quality there too.
Style the stems
Colour-matching the stems is just step one – styling is the next. Get creative and adjust the stems to avoid a stiff or “too perfect” look. Use wire cutters to trim the stems to varying lengths and remove the majority of the leaves to make designing a realistic and contemporary look easier.
Once you’re happy with the lengths, gently bend or curve stems to mimic the natural flow of real flowers. Don’t be afraid to hide stems too where you don’t think they fit. Keep asymmetry top of your mind when playing with the style – real flowers rarely grow perfectly symmetrical.
Longevity
While faux florals are a huge benefit compared to fresh ones as they have no perishable date, it is still important to take care of them to ensure they last as long as possible and still look realistic. So, how do you take care of your artificial flowers?
Where possible, keep flowers out of direct sunlight or rotate your arrangements regularly. Faux florals fade! Keeping artificial flowers out of the sun helps them maintain their bright colours and appear ‘fresh’ for longer. Another tip is to regularly dust. Dust can be a clear indicator that flowers are artificial and can make them look dull and unkempt. It can also provide shelter for tiny pests. To avoid this, wipe down your flowers with a wet cloth or give them a brush off regularly to ensure dirt and dust does not collect on the petals and stems.
Use seasonal blooms
When choosing flowers for a display or arrangement, it’s important to stick to blooms that are appropriate for the season. This ensures that the arrangement looks fresh and natural. For example, in Spring, opt for vibrant tulips and cheerful daffodils. For Summer, bold, warm flowers like sunflowers make an excellent choice. For Autumn, flowers that grow in the Autumn climate and reflect the warm tones like chrysanthemums, work well.
By selecting flowers that naturally bloom during the time of year you are decorating, you create arrangements that feel organic, and ensure the arrangement looks fresh and natural – and most importantly, believable.
Francesca Di Dino is the founder and creative director of floral creative agency The Yard & Co., responsible for some of Australia’s most impressive floral installations.
