Faux Flower Guide

Whether you're new to the concept of faux flowers, or you have just a smattering on a side table or you go all out Elton John style and fill your pad with artificial blooms all year round, we've prepared the ultimate guide to buying, arranging and caring for your beautiful blooms so they carry on looking their best for years to come. 

What Are Faux Flowers?

Put simply, faux flowers are a great alternative to real flowers made from a selection of different materials including silk, paper, wire to name but a few. Our collection of artificial stems, plants and flowers are made to look as close to the real thing as possible. The majority of them are hand-finished to give those all important nuanced details that define the beauty of the real thing. We try to capture that moment where a real flower is at its most fullest and abundant, just before it starts to fade, so that your artificial flowers, with the right care, continue looking their best for many years to come. 

What Are The Advantages Of Artificial Flowers?

They Look Like The Real Thing

Historically, faux flowers have had a bad reputation and sited as a poor imitation of the real thing. Abigail Ahern artificial flowers are designed and made to look as much like the real thing as possible, we love to mix beautiful blooms with (so called) weeds and structural seed heads to give an extremely natural vibe.

You Can Change Them With The Seasons. 

Botanical collections that trace the arc of the seasons ensure that your flower gatherings and floral arrangements reflect the tone of the changing landscape outside throughout the year.

They'll Last Forever

Although some of the materials used in making faux flowers may be deemed unfavourable, good quality artificial flowers will last for many years and are not recognised as a single use item. If they are cared, cleaned and stored as necessary they will last forever

Allergy Free & Pet Friendly

Real flowers can be a big no no for those that have the seasonal burden of hay fever. Artificial flowers allows allergy sufferers to enjoy the beauty of blooms in the house without the annoying side effects, and you can also have peace of mind for your furry friends too, as some fresh flowers can be poisonous to our precious pets.

Alternative Wedding Flowers That Last Forever

Unless you grow your own, real wedding flowers can eat up a big chunk of your wedding budget only to be ready for the compost heap a few days after your big day. Faux wedding flowers may not be the cheapest route but you have the option to gift them to your guests or keep them all to yourself to enjoy for many years after the big day. 

How To Care For Faux Flowers

To keep your faux flowers looking their best, we recommend that you gently wipe them with a soft dry cloth or blow them gently using a hairdryer on the coolest setting. If you choose to change up your artificial flower arrangements seasonally, and store some away, be sure to pop them into a lidded box in a dry environment so that they continue to look their best for your next display.


Top 5 Faux Flowers

Brown ceramic vase filled with artificial cream coloured hydrangea flowers. Style with some other Abigail Ahern foliage to add some freshness to your home.

Hydrangea

Artificial hydrangeas continue to be one our best-selling blooms. Their abundance of realistic petals in tantalising hues like moss green, delicate blushes, creams and caramels are an effortless showstopper.

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An artificial bouquet of pale pink peonies wrapped in some fabric.

Peony

The florists favourite, real peonies tend to have a very short life span so investing in artificial peonies means you can appreciate their beauty for much longer.

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Artificial eucalyptus foliage in blue-green colour.

Eucalyptus

Faux foliage like eucalyptus has all year round appeal, a rustic vase filled with tumbling foliage or adding a smattering to an artificial flower bouquet gives that pop of green that adds a softness, wherever you choose to utilise it. 

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Blossom

An extremely versatile flowering branch. Blossom can add a zing to your spring arrangements or wintery look to a festive gathering of pine foliage.

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A large oversized vase filled with faux thistles. A realistic flower display that will look striking on a hallway console. Quality artificial flowers.

Thistle

Artificial thistle stems are perfect for adding height and structure to a rustic vase or a faux flower arrangement. They quite often stand tall which makes them the ideal choice for a floor standing vase, exuding a fusion of elegance and drama. 

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Choosing Your Artificial Flowers

Take inspiration from nature's palette and the colours you love to put together something special for your home. Not only will this add a chic vibe but it creates a versatile arrangement that can be changed up with the seasons. From there you can ramp up the styling for your celebrations or pare back and pop it onto your coffee table to add a cheerful accent.

Abigail Ahern faux flowers have seasonal appeal and a naturalistic aesthetic that will complement any style of interior decor, whether you love full on maximalism or you prefer something a little more pared back.

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Further Help & Advice 

You can build up your collection gradually or go all out on an oversized gathering for a statement vase. At Abigail Ahern's London store our florists are on hand either online or in person to put something together for you, or advise the best blooms for your favourite vase. 

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Choosing The Right Vase For Artificial Flowers

All of our artificial flowers stems are wired so that you can choose to bend them or cut them. We often recommend bending over cutting to enable you to re-use them in future arrangements.

Choosing the right vase for your flower arrangement or gathering depends on the size and proportions of your arrangement and where you are intending to display your perfect pairing. An arrangement that consists largely of flowers needs to sit on the neck of your vase so that the stems are not in view, whereas a meadow gathering or more branch like stems like blossom look better when you can appreciate their height.

Narrowneck vases

These are the easiest to use as they require less flowers and the slim proportions naturally allow your faux flowers to fall into a good shape.

Bud vases

Ideal to use en masse or as a simple centrepiece to your dining table. They typically use just a few flowers to give that just-picked-from-the-garden look. Our Toma Bud Vase is a unqiue bud vase perfect for adding some natural texture to any display.

Opaque vases

Ideal for artificial flowers as they disguise the fact that there isn't any water.

Here at AA we prefer a more rustic, artisanal vibe for our vases so they tend to be full of texture in muted tones, like the bestselling Massin Vase. The natural hues ensure that the flowers do the talking. If you prefer a patterned vase or a colourful vase, a nice touch is to use complementary colours that are featured in your arrangement to make a more considered display

Get Creative

Using artificial flowers and stems allows you to be more creative with the vessel you use to display your flowers. Baskets can look stunning with a bunch of faux flowers bundled into them, and the texture contrast ramps up the friction, an interior design trick that Abigail often uses to create intrigue an interest to your styling. 


Discover our full collection of unique and unusual vases here.

Choose Your Vase