Terminology
As early as the 2700 BC the Chinese mastered the art of working with silk, not only to make clothing but to create elaborate floral replicas. They were the first to buy fake flowers! They used these flowers as a way of expressing themselves and decorating, just as we do now.
It was not until the 12th century that the art of silk flower making was taken to Italy, possibly by Marco Polo,and the Italians began making flowers from the cocoons of silk worms, assembling them and selling them. The French wanted to buy fake flowers,so, not to be outdone, they began to vie with their neighbor until by the 14th century, the best silk flowers you could buy were French ‘silk flowers’ which were unrivaled in their field. There is a story that in 1775 Marie Antoinette was presented with a silk rosebud which was said to have been so perfect that she fainted at the sight. In 1787 the same Revolution that ended her life almost ruined the fake flower industry when many skilled craftsmen escaped across the channel to England taking their craft with them, but few who were left had the energy or inclination to buy fake flowers in the quantity they had before.
By the 1800’s English settlers in their turn brought their expertise at silk flower manufacture with them to the New World and the ‘Parisian Flower Company’ which had it’s offices in Paris opened another office in New York and started to supply silk flowers. High end dressmakers and decorators all wanted to buy fake flowers. By the 1920’s florists, who until that time had only dealt in ‘natural flowers’ began to use silk flowers in their vases and containers when natural seasonal flowers were in short supply. Clients were happy to buy fake flowers if the quality was good.
In the 20’s and 30’s decorations and wreaths using faux fruits and vegetables in the Italian della Robbia style became extremely popular. Then came the fashion of ‘artificial flowers’ made from celluloid from Japan but these turned out to be highly flammable and were soon banned. Thus began the search for new materials for making ‘silk flowers’, until in the 1970’s much lower priced flowers made of plastic from Taiwan appeared in the US. A daffodil would be given away with a packet of ‘Tide’ but these were nothing like the beautiful blooms of today, in fact many described them as ‘disgusting’. They looked like plastic and smelled like plastic.
In contrast, modern ‘silk’ flowers are often so realistic we have to touch them to check, and in many cases even then you can’t be sure. Now the Chinese ‘silk flower’ trade has turned full circle as the majority of the beautiful individual foliage, flowers and stems are now imported from China, Thailand and Honduras where the intensive labor can be acquired more easily. Fresh flowers are still prized, but once again high end decorators, as well as discerning home owners and even brides are happy to buy fake flowers where the quality is good and they are almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Benefit
- Always in season
- Life-like and realistic
- Non-allergenic
- Never wilt or weep
- Last a life time
- Easily Transportable
- Inexpensive and stunning
- As individual as you are
The benefits of silk, artificial or fake flowers are many, but so are the choices. When you set out to buy fake flowers, how do you choose?
Most people are looking to buy fake flowers that look realistic. In that case be careful in your choice of color. Blue roses, in fact almost any blue flower (except hyacinth, delphinium, cornflower and hydrangea) do not look good. Most real flowers have a considerable variation in color across the bloom, so look carefully and choose silk flowers with realistic shading, especially if choosing hydrangeas.
Look at the type of flower. It is usually good to buy foliage in ‘bush’ form, even if you intend to take the bush apart for use in an arrangement. When it comes to flowers, the individual stems are usually better quality. Choose these for accent flowers in an arrangement, and only choose sprays or bushes for your fillers, if any.
If you plan to create your own silk floral arrangement, consider the height of stems you will need. As a rule of thumb, the tallest stem will be one and a half time the height of the vase. If you are planning an arrangement where stems are on display, you may want to buy fake flowers from one of the botanically correct ranges, often described as real touch silk flowers, as all parts of the flower, the leaf, the stem, the underside, look equally realistic. You may end up paying a bit more for these, but it will worth it. Most real touch flowers are hand made and MUCH more realistic.
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