Let Rooms Bloom All Year With Fake Flowers

Say good-bye to quickly fading bouquets with true-to-life flowers and plants.

Flowers

Want peonies come winter? You can have them. Fake blossoms―from amaryllises to zinnias―come in opaque containers or clear glass or plastic vases.

What to look for: Petals and leaves should appear and feel waxy, velvety, or filmy, like their counterparts in nature. Most artificial blooms are made with cotton or polyester petals and leaves, which are stiffer and hold dyes and paint better. The best stems feature vinyl-coated wire and natural details, like nodules and thorns. Flowers are sold individually (starting at $3) or in premade bouquets (from $20).

Expert Tips

• Mold them into shape. Many faux flowers are packaged stick-straight, says Diane James, a permanent-botanical designer in Norwalk, Connecticut. Gently heat them with a hair dryer to relax the petals.
• Mix and match blooms of slightly different shades. “A bouquet of cream roses that have the exact same tone will look dead, because that’s just not what you see in nature,” says James.