Every year I can’t wait to get my hands in the dirt and plant as many flowers as possible around the house. And every year around the 4th of July, I’m sick and tired of watering for at least an hour every night. This year my age is showing because I decided I was going to limit my watering time by mixing real and artificial plants outside. And I have to admit two months into the season, it has cut my watering time in half, no plants are brown or drooping and half of them I will be able to take inside in the fall and bring them back out next spring for zero extra cost. From the road, you really can’t tell which are real and which are artificial. Can you tell from these photos?

I admit, it is easier to tell what is faux in up close photos but I’m betting you can’t tell as you drive by. Here are the answers:

I like to add a little color in hanging baskets on the front porch. But hanging baskets always dry out so fast in the heat and the flowers never look the greatest as the summer goes on. I decided to try full-faux in this year’s hanging baskets. With any luck I’ll be pulling these same baskets out again year after year which will make them practically free, right? Here is how I did it to make sure the stems didn’t blow away in the wind. Two months in and they are hanging on perfectly after an extra windy & hot spring/summer so far.

Here is how I did it to make sure the stems didn’t blow away in the wind. Two months in and they are hanging on perfectly after an extra windy & hot spring/summer so far. The hanging baskets were re-used from last year. I started with three $5 fern bunches from Wal-Mart per basket. Yes, they look fake if you look closely but these are just used for inexpensive filler. You won’t even see them much in the final product. Then I used various greenery and floral picks I picked up from Michael’s when they were on sale. I don’t buy florals or greenery from Michael’s or Hobby Lobby unless they are on sale which is most of the time. I began by taking the floral picks and tying the long stems in a knot on the end which gave me some area to hot glue the heck out of the stems and stick them to the coco coir lining of the hanging basket. Once I had all the stems glued as well as possible, I added small landscaping rocks and fill dirt into the basket to hold the stems firmly in place. It’s worked like a charm so far.

A few things to note about using artificial flowers:

* It takes more florals and greenery than you think to get a natural, full look.

* Artificial flowers and greenery aren’t cheap even when on sale. I look at is as I’ll be able to reuse the hanging baskets year after year so the cost will break up and actually be cheaper than live plants each year.

Take a look at me in action creating one of the baskets. (What a lovely screen capture it grabbed for the video below. Clearly I got my Grandma’s chin! That’s okay, I got her artistic abilities, too, so I’m good with it.) I’m really happy with the final product and will most likely add to my collection next year elsewhere around the house. Tell me, would you consider faux or are you the real deal all the way?

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