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.