Customers sometimes wonder why BB Barns has a silk floral department when we specialize in unique and REAL plants. The answer is simple. Silks are beautiful, and at BB Barns Garden Center, we love beauty. Cynthia Gillooly, orchid expert and silk designer, gives us 5 great reasons why silks deserve a place in our gardening homes.
A vase of lavender spires.
1. Silks bring a finishing touch to an interior design They are perfect as little–or big–fillers for side tables or mantles. And bonus: You don’t have to worry about drainage. Any treasured item from mason jars, to baskets, to cachepo pots are good choices for silks. Look around your home. What unique containers have you been tossing your lose change into? Perhaps it’s perfect for an artificial arrangement.
2. The quality and variety of silks has progressed. Case in point: A BB Barns seasonal employee faithfully watered the silks as part of her job. When staff discovered the mistake, the story endeared the employee to BB Barns permanently, but it also caused everyone to step back and look. Silks have definitely come a long way, and flowers and fruit are not the only choices, anymore. Succulents, ferns, curly willow and rose hips (to name a few) are available for designers, and it’s challenging to tell the difference between the real thing and not.
Yummy silk rose hips are perfect for all seasons, even holiday wreaths.
3. Silks are a simple way to spruce up the house season to season or holiday to holiday. Just like switching out drapes, pillows and bedding, silks can be interchanged easily. They can be reworked into new combinations with little effort, or added to for a fresh look. A stem of narcissus for a spring touch, or pomegranates for fall color, and the effect is immediate.
4. Silks are a one-time investment that last for years. Local grocery stores are making fresh, floral arrangements more affordable (and it’s always fun to have a vase of cut flowers), but week-to-week, that gets, well, pricey. So budget friendly makes the list of good reasons to have artificial arrangements in your home.
Hydrangeas, viburnum, and frothy ferns combine for a cottage look.
Burgundy hydrangeas in pewter vase. Elegant and colorful..
5. Creative fun. Designing with silks incorporates the same techniques that working with real flowers does. Simple design rules of layering, contrasting colors, textures, heights, and scale apply. Get creative with these fabulous flowers and have some fun.
Finally, Silks aren’t meant to replace fresh or real, household plants. They’re meant to enhance our homes with beauty year-round. That is something BB Barns can get behind.
Written by Cinthia Milner, OSA, Garden Coach, and blog writer.
BB Barns Garden Center services Asheville, all of Western North Carolina, upstate South Carolina and Tennessee.
A classic bowl of artificial fruit is the perfect centerpiece for your table.
