So close and yet so far

This is a grade 3 Ranunculus

Now we will examine a grade 3 artificial flower. The specimen I have chosen is a ranunculus. It is the prettiest stem we have seen so far, but it has many of the same flaws we have seen in the previous examples. The edges of the petals are very badly frayed and would probably get worse over time. The close up photo shows the weave of the fabric comprising the petals is too coarse, and the fabric is badly wrinkled in places. A greater attempt at detail has been made with this specimen by the addition of individual stamens, but it is too obvious they are made of plastic. The color is an attractive hue, but it is too flat. Light does not reflect in a realistic way. The darker tinting along the edges of the petals is shading that results from the curved petal edges. So far, it seems all three specimens were made from larger pieces of pre-dyed fabric, which accounts for their unrealistic hues. This will not be the case with the higher quality examples.

This close up of the ranunculus reveals many flaws not visible
from a distance

The ranunculus is a more complicated blossom than the two we have examined previously because it has more petals over layed in a more complicated, alternating pattern. This specimen reasonably duplicates these aspects of the real bloom. The back side of the blossom, which is shown in the third photo, is biologically inaccurate because it has seven sepals in the calyx while the actual flower would only have five. I may be too picky calling attention to this detail, but it is indicative of the overall standards that characterize artificial blooms of this grade. It is possible that a faux specimen of better production standards would have this flaw and could still have a higher quality ranking.

This calyx is biologically inaccurate,
a flaw that would be less objectionable
 if other production standards
were higher

This flower is placed in the third lowest quality grade because the materials used in its fabrication are too obviously coarse. I like this specimen because Ranunculus is one of my favorite flowers. Greater care was taken in its construction. It most closely resembles the appearance of an actual blossom compared to the other examples we have seen so far. It was put together more carefully. There was no excessive use of glue. There is a greater attempt to reproduce detail.

Any artificial flowers that fall into the lowest three quality grades we have now examined would not be used in any of my arrangements. The next three higher grades are head and shoulders above those we have seen. This is not to say they will be perfect copies, but they contribute the beauty, warmth and elegance we expect from adding flowers to our surroundings.

You get what you pay for

In this posting we will examine the second lowest grade,  #2, of artificial flower. Our example here is a daisy. Its overall appearance is superior to the poinsettia examined in my previous post. We don’t need to discuss the anatomical details. However, it is interesting to note that the daisy blossom  has a unique kind of petal. There are the familiar ray florets that give the flower its distinctive color: white, yellow, red, etc. These radiate from the center and are usually referred to as the petals. Then there is the central disk, which comprises the “eye” (as in ox-eye daisy). However, in the daisy (and the sunflower), the eye is also made up petals, but these are a different kind of petal, called disk florets. These fine, hair-like filaments are actually another kind of petal. Each of these petals contains the organs for producing seed.

This daisy looks better than the
previously examined poinsettia,
but numerous flaws are revealed
in close up images.

Our faux daisy suffers from a crude production process. The ray florets, upon close  examination, are not very attractive. The edges are severely frayed. Again, as with the poinsettia, the color has no subtlety. Here the red is overly bright with no variation in tone. In the business of paints and dyes, this is known as saturation. I don’t know if saturation actually occurs in the organic world, where colors are blends of shades and tones. The beauty of real flowers comes from the way they reflect light. Our daisy looks unnaturally bright and flat. Further, the ray florets, the petals, have no structural character. They are too obviously imposters.

Here you can see the tattered look
of the daisy and the cheap attempt to
reproduce the blossom's "eye".

In the close up below, I have cut away some of the florets to reveal a clearer view of the central disk. You will see that it seems to be a round plug, probably cut from a longer cylinder of some kind of plastic. The surface has been colored and then deeply scored to approximate the appearance of the disk petals. It is a very crude production technique and is not at all realistic.

The last photo further illustrates the lack of finesse in making this specimen. This is a tight close up with petals cut away to reveal the application of glue that holds the blossom together. The glue has been slathered on in a heavy-handed way that shows the lack of care applied in making this reproduction. If you were holding this stem in your hand, the glue would be conspicuous without enlargement.

This is a poinsettia? I don’t think so.

As I mentioned previously, there has been continued improvement in the quality, the realism, of artificial flowers. Production techniques have developed to manufacture faux blooms that increasingly resemble the real thing. Today the industry recognizes six levels of quality in the grading of artificial botanicals, with #1 being the poorest quality and #6 being the highest. We are going to look at specimens that exemplify the standards of each grade and you will see what to look for in appraising the quality of the stems and arrangements being offered for sale. Like any product, higher quality correlates with higher cost.

STEM

GRADE 1 POINSETTIA

Example number 1 is a poinsettia purchased from a dollar store. This sad example resembles a living plant in no discernible way. It mimics the red and green leaves that characterize the poinsettia, but the colors are pallid and not authentic, they are middling shades of a standard and, no doubt, inexpensive industrial dye. The fabric used to form the leaves is so coarsely woven that light clearly passes through. Further, the leaves are frayed and creased, their outline is not accurately cut and they lack the rigidity to look natural. The means for attaching them to the stem are crude plastic devices of poor design and manufacture. The stem itself is a piece of crudely molded plastic. The close up photo of the stem shows that excess plastic was extruded through the seam of the mold, creating what is called flash, and no finishing was done to remove this imperfection. This production flaw indicates that either the temperature of the plastic was not controlled when injected into the mold or that the mold was worn and did not seal tightly.

Now let’s examine the biological accuracy of this specimen. There are not enough leaves. The poinsettia is a lush plant, while this artificial has only two leaves on the stem  (Of course, ambient conditions will affect the vigor of a plant, but I do not think that this specimen was manufactured to illustrate that point.) Most significantly, the red “blossom” atop the stem is grouped within a calyx that sets it apart from the leaves. Certain varieties of plants have a calyx, a cup like structure of green petals, called sepals, that lie at the base of the blossom.  However, the poinsettia does not have a calyx. The red “flowers” of the poinsettia are actually leaves that develop coloration due to carefully timed exposure to light.

INAPPROPRIATE CALYX

Let me introduce myself

Flower Design is my first attempt to run my own business after 30+ years of office work. I never considered myself an entrepreneur, but designing flower arrangements is an opportunity to indulge a life-long passion. Specializing in artificial flowers allows me to work out of my home without maintaining a perishable inventory. My training consists of floral design classes run by the nationally recognized floral arrangers Mike Gaffney and Ardith Beveridge.

Artificial flowers, silk flowers, faux flowers, permanent botanicals: these terms mean about the same thing and are usually used interchangeably. My husband and I maintain four perennial flower beds in our yard and we appreciate the delicate beauty of summer blooms. Artificial flowers do not replace the natural beauty of real blossoms and I don’t feel they are meant to.  They simulate their beauty. If the resemblance between real and faux is close enough, the faux blossoms will evoke the same emotional response as real blooms. For this reason, and because the faux blossoms are permanent and do not incur the costs of maintenance and frequent replacement, they are an integral feature in interior design.

Of course, artificial flowers that are poorly made will not have this desired affect, and will detract from an otherwise beautifully appointed room. That is why, over the years, there has been a continuous effort to improve the quality of artificial flowers. In just the last decade, major improvements have been made in their manufacture so that we are now at a stage where faux blossoms are not only eye deceiving, but the best nearly deceive our sense of touch.

I am going to try to dispel the negative attitude toward artificial flowers that stems from a time when they were unmistakably fake and to illustrate their current remarkable realism. Then you will understand why I say I am able to put the beauty of nature at your disposal.