4 Simple Faux Flower Tips for a Fall Arrangement That Looks Fresh

I love fresh flowers, but faux flowers are a good alternative when needing something affordable for your home that lasts all season. The problem is often faux flower look…well, faux! Yet, I have four simple faux flower tips to make your arrangements look fresh—never fake!

1: Pick Seasonal Faux Flowers

Use seasonal flowers even though they are faux. Here I used dahlias and mums because both are available as fresh flowers this time of year.

Dahlias (the dusty pink and light pink flowers in my arrangement) are quintessentially fall. Yet, the cut blooms only last a few short days. So investing in a few quality faux dahlias is a great idea for fall. Over the years I’ve purchased them at Pottery Barn, Michaels, Joanns, Hobby Lobby and Afloral. Just wait for a sale! Often all the craft stores offer their seasonal flowers for fifty to sixty percent off early in the season and again at the end.

Faux mums (the white flowers in my arrangement) are also readily available at craft stores. Just like in nature, they come in a variety of types, sizes and colors. I like to stock up on the white football mum style because they tend to go with everything.

2: Combine with Dried Flowers

Unless you have dried hydrangea, often dried flowers are smaller blooms, making them perfect to use as an accent flower with your larger faux flowers.

Here I used Craspedia also known as Billy Balls/Buttons (the yellow ball flowers in my arrangement). You can usually find Billy Balls with the fresh flowers at Trader Joe’s or ask your florist. They naturally dry to look exactly like they look fresh. I’ve also seen them online at Afloral.com.

3: Use Fresh Greenery

This really should have been #1 because using fresh greenery is the #1 way to make faux flowers look real. Faux greenery is usually what makes an arrangement look fake. Instead, use fresh greens to make it look alive. While fresh greens do have a shelf life, it’s usually longer than fresh flowers and they are cheaper. You can buy different varieties at your local florist or grocery store. Or better yet, forage in your yard and get your greens for free.

Here I used fresh mint for a nod to the end of summer. Because mint needs water to stay fresh, I put each stem in a floral plastic water tube and then placed in the arrangement. Other types of greenery (like eucalyptus) do not even need water. If using eucalyptus (readily available for cheap at the grocery store), just place into the arrangement fresh and watch as it naturally dries out. Although when dry eucalyptus is a bit brittle, it will still look fine all-season or just replace every couple of weeks. Another great greenery option that doesn’t need water is lemon leaves. Just ask your local florist for some.

Keep in mind, because faux greenery looks fake, I usually take off all the leaves on my faux flowers before using them.

4: Don’t Use Clear Glass

I have two main reasons for not using clear glass with faux flowers. One, you don’t want to see the stems because often they are all bent up. Two, you don’t want to see that there is no water in the vase. A dead giveaway that you are using fake flowers.

Here I used a low cement pot because the height was perfect for a coffee table. And if you saw inside the pot, every stem was bent because I didn’t want to cut them that short in case I needed them for a taller arrangement at a later date.

Like with all flower arrangements, I suggest keeping your flower height close to the lip of your vase so you don’t see the stems. It automatically elevates your arrangement to florist-level quality.

Can you guess which of the above two pictures is real and which is fake? The second photo uses faux flowers, but I made it to look like the real one. All flowers used were faux and I combined them with fresh greenery (mint).

And here I used the faux dahlias with fresh eucalyptus and natural pine cones for a completely different look. I was inspired to create it to look like a fresh arrangement that had died. Be sure to see the how-to on my post Creating the Same Look Using Fresh or Faux Flowers.

Are you sprinkling in touches of fall yet? I must admit I got out my white squirrel a little early this year; however, I just saw baby boo white pumpkins at the grocery store so fall is now officially on!