People are surprised when they find out the flowers in our hallway are faux. The stems are good, but good stems are only half of it. These are the seven things we do every single time, and they are why nobody asks.
1. Shape every stem before it goes anywhere near a vase
Stems arrive flattened from the box. Hold each one and bend the wire into a gentle curve; separate the leaves so they point in different directions; tilt the flower head slightly off vertical. Real flowers lean. Thirty seconds a stem is the single biggest improvement you can make.
2. Odd numbers, uneven heights
Three, five or seven stems, never four or six, and never the same height. Cut or bend so the tallest stem is a third taller than the shortest. Symmetry is what the eye reads as artificial.
3. Fewer flowers, more foliage
A florist's bouquet is mostly green. Two hydrangea heads with three eucalyptus and a grass look like a real arrangement; five hydrangea heads on their own look like a shop display. Our foliage stems are the cheapest things we sell and the ones we use most.
4. Hide the mechanics
No stem should show below the rim of an opaque vase, and no wire should ever be visible. If you are using a glass vase, add water. Yes, really. Faux stems in clear water read as real at any distance.
5. Choose stems with imperfection built in
Look for browning at the petal edges, a bud or two among the open flowers, leaves with veins and a matte finish. Anything glossy or uniformly coloured, leave on the shelf. The Natural Garden Collection stems we stock are chosen for exactly this.
6. Keep them out of direct sun and dust them
Sunlight fades faux petals over a year or two. Dust once a month with a hairdryer on cool, held at arm's length, and they stay looking new. A dusty stem is the giveaway far more often than the stem itself.
7. Change them with the season
Nothing says artificial like the same arrangement in July and December. Keep a base of foliage in the vase and swap three or four flower stems four times a year. It costs less than one fresh bouquet a month and the room always looks current. Our Autumn and Christmas stems are built for this.
If you would rather have it done, our arrangements apply all seven rules before they reach you. Shape the stems when they arrive and you are finished.