These Outdoor Artificial Flowers Could Fool {Almost} Anyone!
May 19, 2026
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These beautiful, faux outdoor flowers are perfect for problem areas or non-green thumb gardeners.
So, I would say I definitely do have a green thumb...it's taken years
of trial and error, but I can keep almost any plant alive inside or out!
But I've had a couple of problem areas over the years when it comes to the
exterior, and both are on the front of our house. It gets full sun all day, so
in the middle of the summer the plants are hammered with heat and sun.
Our established perennials do fine, it's the annuals that suffer in that mid-summer heat.
I'm not new to faux plants of course -- I've had quite a few over the years
inside of our home. Until a few years ago, I had never attempted them
outside.
Turns out, these evergreen topiary spheres on our front porch are still one of
my favorite finds ever:
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We have
the cypress versions
and I LOVE THEM. They've saved us so much money on flowers from season to
season.
I
shared those fake topiaries
five years ago and they still look brand new. They are out nearly
year-round...the only time I take them out is in December when I put cuts
from our evergreen trees into the planters for the holidays.
They also come apart, so if you have a smaller planter, you can just use one ball split in two.
The first summer or two, I had luck on my side and the flowers seemed to do
pretty well all season. But the past six years or so, they start out stellar
and then crash out.
I've tried everything...fertilizing, trimming, watering too much, watering too
little. Usually by July they are scraggly and sparse, and there's no
hope saving them. I love the look of them, but am so tired of throwing money
away.
So this year I decided to try something new. I couldn't even believe I was
going to do it...even as I ordered the first set of faux flowers, I thought
they were going to look ridiculous. I figured I'd stick them into the dirt and
just see how they looked. I could always return them!
I started with
these artificial flowers in purple, pink and white. I pushed them into the soil and stood back:
And laughed out loud, because I really LIKED them. I stood back a few feet,
liked them. Walked to the middle of the yard, loved them. They filled in our
long window box beautifully!
I couldn't believe I put fake plants in my window boxes, and they looked
GREAT. The set comes with a set of 12 bundles and I loved the variety with the
cute little white blooms mixed in with the purple and pink.
This was late March, and I figured I had a few weeks to see how they held
up.
Welp. I still loved them nearly two months later. They looked exactly the same
as the day I "planted" them. 😂 My only issue (and it was a minor one), was
that the blooms were a little small from far away. I wanted a bit more impact
from the street.
So I did some searching and found
these fake pansies in the same color way. The only (minor) issue I had with them is the leaves varied a bit too much
for my taste -- some of them were a brighter, yellow/green color.
I grabbed
my pruning shears
(for real flowers) and started snipping:
The bundles were quite full, so they could handle a little trim.
I absolutely love how the two versions look together! You truly have to look
close to see that they aren't real:
Both versions are supposed to be pansies I think, but they pass for petunias,
right?
These also come in a set of 12 bundles, and yet again I just kind of stuck
them in here and there:
I had my family come out to check them out and tell me if I was insane...but
they agreed they looked really great. My husband has commented on them
numerous times as we drive up to our home.
So far the first versions have been out in the rain and sun for two
months...and still look brand new. I will keep you updated on how both
versions hold up.
I'm THRILLED that I was able to purchase all of these for well under $40. I
have a
few tricks for saving on perennials, but even using those I would have put close to $100 into this nearly 10
foot window box for this summer:
We'll see how the faux flowers hold up season to season. The colors are so
vibrant and pretty, even if they fade a little they'll still look great:
I was second guessing myself at first, but I'm so pleased with these, I just
had to share them with you all!
Don't worry, all of the plants in the backyard are real...so far:
I am laughing about the faux flowers... I did the same thing this year for the pots on my front porch!! We live out in the country so the only person who sees them up close is the Amazon man, but even then they look so real! I've always done real ferns but the last couple years they just didn't do great there and shed leaves ALL SUMMER LONG. These cost the same amount so I thought I'd try... and I'm loving them, ha!! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny, I had the exact same problem with my window boxes. Everything would die. I put these same fake flowers in and absolutely love them.
ReplyDeleteNow I NEED more! I bought some last year and they make me smile every time I see them and know they are my little secret! I bought some spray from Hobby Lobby to help them resist sun fading and they were in the front of our yard all last year and out they came this spring once again with another shot of spray to be on the safe side!
ReplyDeleteHow many did you use for the pot at the door?
ReplyDeleteI currently have faux flowers in my window boxes too. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi, wondering what size cypress balls did you use for your planters and a link of where you got your planters and size of them. Love the look of this! I've been following your blog now for several years and always love what you do!
ReplyDelete