Fake Plants Have a Long And Illustrious History

Fake plants are not a recent invention. Most of you won't be surprised to learn that China produces the majority of the world's artificial plants. According to historians, China is where it all began with the discovery of harvesting silk from silkworms. Because silkworm rearing was developed more than three thousand years ago to provide the softest, most luxurious silks, the silk-making process was much more comprehensive at the outset than it is today for a variety of reasons.

What you may not know, and what many people are surprised to learn, is that silkworms are completely reliant on humans for everything from reproduction to survival. In reality, they will not be able to live in the natural world without the assistance of humans, from rearing to feeding.

Silk was once produced, woven into high-end clothing, and used medicinally. Silk was first used to create artificial flowers in China around 1,500 years ago. Such better satisfaction was not appreciated by the masses. Early on, the ladies of the Imperial Palace ordered silk flowers to be worn in their hair. As trade routes to Japan and Korea opened, the pattern spread to the wealthy outside the palace, and it gained prominence in those countries and beyond. As trading routes opened up to the rest of East Asia, the pattern would gain popularity and spread across the continent and beyond.

Fast forward to the 12th century, when Italian merchants began making artificial flowers out of silkworm cocoons. While the Italians were the pioneers on the European continent, their French neighbors quickly followed suit.

By the fourteenth century, the French had begun to compete with their European neighbors, and French silk flowers were at the pinnacle of the art. The French continued to improve their fabrics and the quality of their flowers, mastering the art of artificial flower production and quickly surpassing the Italians' ability to create flowers.

The best was known as French-made faux flowers in the 15th century. Following the French Revolution, many artisans fled to England, where they sold their wares to the British. English settlers eventually brought silk flowers to America.

The silk flower industry remained dormant for a few decades until the late-nineteenth-century Victorian Period. The Victorian Era saw a true explosion of floral art, with both living and artificial varieties.

Victorians preferred an overly ornate style of decoration, with flowers and other ornaments adorning every table and mantelpiece. Flowers were so popular that "the language of flowers," in which floral bouquets carried messages and meanings, became a cult. Many of them were made of silk, but they were also made of satin, velvet, muslin, cambric, crepe, and gauze, among other materials.

By 1920, florists were supplementing live blooms with silk flowers to make up for shortages when flowers were out of season. Silk flowers today are made of polyester and plastic, which gives them longevity and vibrancy that was previously unheard of. Modern silk flowers, rather than being an artistic rendition of the real thing, are so similar to live blooms that many people can't tell the difference unless they look very closely. If you're looking for flowers that will last, don't be afraid to try silk varieties!

People from all over the world have been creating artificial flowers and foliage by hand for centuries. The Egyptians used stained horn shavings, the Romans used gold and silver, the Chinese used rice-papers, the Japanese used bamboo pith, and the Italians dyed silkworm cocoons and turned them into flowers. Our North American Indians cut flowers of buckskin, decorated them with colorful beads and quillwork, and attached them to their wearing apparel, while our South American Indians used feathers. Flowers have been created from dainty shells by a native of the seas.

Many fabrics, papers, and plastic materials are now being made specifically for commercial use in the manufacture of artificial flowers and foliage in our own culture. Milliners, department stores, and window and interior decorators spend millions of dollars each year on artificial plants.

Fake plants and flowers are now widely used throughout the world. The majority of artificial flowers are made in China's Guangdong Province, bringing the development of artificial flowers full circle. Thailand and Honduras are two other countries that produce them.

Because of their low labor costs, these areas are known for their artificial flower production. While artificial flower factories use advanced technology to design realistic-looking flowers and plants and modern machines to mass-produce plastic and fabric parts, the plants and flowers are still assembled by hand for the most part.

It is the twenty-first century, and lifestyle trends are rapidly changing! Although live plants are always a good choice, they aren't the only ones. Other options are available to you today. Artificial plants, for example, are very popular these days. It's a great way to spruce up your outdoor and indoor spaces. Most people today are aware that silk or plastic plants can be shaped, painted, and designed to resemble natural plants.

Although many people prefer real, fresh flowers and plants, their own set of benefits. Real flowers and plants, for example, are seasonal and require a lot of attention.

When many people think of artificial flowers and plants from the past, they think of a hideous plastic nightmare that has nothing to do with real flowers and plants. This is no longer the case.

Today, you can find a wide variety of truly stunning and handcrafted fake plants and flowers that will astonish you with their remarkable realism. They appear to have been plucked straight from the garden. And they're not just realistic to the naked eye. The materials used to make the stems and petals are now of such high quality, and many are made of silk, that they appear to be real when you touch them.

Artificial plants, on the other hand, maintain their appearance throughout the year and never die. That's why the artificial plant industry is a multibillion-dollar business that caters to people who want long-lasting floral displays, particularly for crafts.

Artificial plants enable floral designers to create arrangements that incorporate a variety of plants from different seasons, which would be nearly impossible to achieve with real plants. Artificial plants are the ideal low-maintenance, long-lasting solution for those who want flowers that look perfect and stay that way because they don't require sunlight, water, soil, or upkeep.

Artificial flowers, for example, have grown in popularity as a part of weddings and other celebrations. Artificial plants may also be beneficial to one's health. Some real flowers and plants may irritate allergy sufferers, whereas artificial plants will not.

The majority of today's artificial flowers and plants are made of high-quality plastics and fabrics, such as polyester. Many of them resemble the real thing so closely that you may have to touch and smell them to tell the difference.

When you suddenly have the ability to get the same realistic feel from artificial flowers and plants, the fact that you don't need green fingers to keep them becomes a huge advantage.

They are more expensive than the real ones, but you can keep them forever if you buy them once. We seek to surround ourselves with things that fit into our hectic daily lives in our modern lifestyle. This means we look for things that allow us to be flexible and don't ask for more than we can handle. Faux flowers and plants are a fantastic solution.

Designer Vertical Gardens has a variety of stunning collection of fake plants to choose from

Our artificial plants are all of the highest quality, and they look so real that you'd be forgiven for thinking they were real. Each plant is thoroughly handcrafted and decorated by a skilled artisan, with every last detail carefully considered. Here's where you can find our selection of artificial plants and trees.