Why Go Artificial
Why do interior designers and plant decorators go for artificial over real when choosing plants, trees, shrubs or flowers? Why not go for the real thing, instead of something artificial?
Well, there are several reasons. For starters, not everyone is born with the gift of a green thumb. Gardening takes time and patience. It is also a skill. Artificial plants allow anyone the gift of interior or exterior gardening without the hassle, time, or costs involved. These plants look so real you’d swear otherwise until you touch them.
The larger a project is, the more time-consuming and more labor intensive – hours wise – it can become. Sure, a plantscaping company can install a beautifully crafted project for your home, office, company or hotel, but if it is not properly maintained, that green project will not continue to look as lush and lavish as it did upon installation. Constant maintenance of real plants is key. Gardening and plantscaping with artificial plants take that maintenance away from the drawing table.
That opens up more design options for consumers.
Remember what we all learned as children? Real plants need sunlight, soil, and water to survive. Sometimes they need fertilizer. Real plants grow as a result and need to be trimmed. Some get yellow leaves that have to be picked off or cut back. Sometimes – watch out! – they get bugs or attract other types of rodents, which require pesticides.
Water, especially, can be a time-consuming and costly commodity. In our environmentally conscious times, it may make more sense to choose products that are artificial and do not require water in order to conserve a vital resource. This may make even more sense in drought-prone parts of the country, such as the Southwest, West, or California regions.
Over time, it can save individuals and companies money to choose artificial plants over real ones because they last longer and will not have to be replaced as often. Real plants die, and artificial ones do not. Real plants can rot away, and artificial ones do not. Artificial ones do not require any sunlight, so they can go anywhere and be better suited for different environments and design settings based upon blueprints, room layout, and structure first.
Artificial plants can look better than the real thing. They maintain their beauty and luster longer. They are developed for use in buildings with low light level. Artificial plants look as realistic as possible, but are virtually maintenance free. The question isn’t, why go artificial, but, why not?