Bucks &amp; Oxon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191039.653-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144951" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191039.653-1.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191039.653-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191039.653-1-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191039.653-1-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-ve-got-a-faux-flower-business-why-not-the-real-thing">You’ve got a faux flower business &#8211; why not the real thing?</h2>



<p>I had my first child, Alice, seven years ago. People gave me flowers and within a few days they’d go horrible and I barely had a chance to enjoy them in a fog of tiredness. It got me thinking about the alternative. I used to think fake flowers were tacky but having realised how far they’d come I made it my quest to find the best. I didn’t set out to start a business but it was very organic &#8211; a hobby that escalated.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Are artificial &#8216;greener&#8217; than real flowers?</h2>



<p>My family are farmers and so is my husband so we are all about the environment, sustainability and making the planet a greener place. A lot of people think of fake flowers as the opposite of that but once you buy them, you have them forever. I still have fresh flowers &#8211; especially for the scent &#8211; but from a sustainability point of view fake flowers win unless you’re literally growing them in your own garden. Many bought flowers are grown aboard, flown over, then put into refrigerated lorries to transport them to the florist. Fake flowers are mainly made in China but come over on ships so don’t come with nearly as many carbon emissions.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191338.031.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144950" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191338.031.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191338.031-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191338.031-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191338.031-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191338.031-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sounds like they’ve changed over the years?</h2>



<p>The main difference really is the quality and realism &#8211; many of them these days are even ‘real touch’, so they genuinely feel and look like the real thing. They just don’t smell, but one day my dream is to get a spray scent to give them that lovely smell of the fresh flower, but it’s coming up with the formula that’s tricky. Even the ones that aren’t real touch, the quality is way above what they were 20-30 years. I had a delivery the other day and I picked up this rose and sniffed it without thinking because it looked so real.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191534.058.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144954" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191534.058.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191534.058-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191534.058-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191534.058-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191534.058-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">So you’ve got these gorgeous faux blooms. Do you put them in a vase like a normal bouquet?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Contrary to what I’d thought would sell best, 90% of my sales are actually single stems. My customers pick and mix from the stems to arrange them how they want to match their needs and their decor. Most will put the flowers and foliage in ceramic vases, though it’s a myth that you can’t use glass vases. Just put glue on the end of the stem to stop the metal from rusting and then they can go into water and look like real flowers.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How do you make them look natural?</h2>



<p>The biggest mistake a lot of people make is not separating all the small stems off the main stem. They’re tight together when packaged and so you want to pull apart each stem and make each part as bushy as possible. Then measure against a vase and bend away the extra stem &#8211; I prefer to bend them because if you cut them you can’t use them in a taller vase later. The beauty is also to bend the stems too because nothing in nature is straight. Real tulips are known for drooping so in my house I style my faux tulips drooping.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191450.292.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144952" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191450.292.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191450.292-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191450.292-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191450.292-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191450.292-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s hot in flower arranging right now and can you do it with faux flowers?</h2>



<p>Flower arranging nowadays is a lot more natural and has moved on from the structured look of old, though it is still popular with some, including the older generation. I very rarely use the Oasis but some people prefer that look, fixing flowers into place. For a more natural look, my grasses are popular for softness though eucalyptus is hands down the winner for foliage. Whites, creams and greens are very popular nowadays for a neutral look. People often make the mistake of not using enough greenery. Having said that just hydrangeas or peonies en masse is a great look.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">You can be seasonal with them then?</h2>



<p>Absolutely. At the moment it’s blossoms and tulips that are popular but we’ll get more colour with summer &#8211; Canterbury Bells, roses and later on in the summer dahlias will be coming out in force. I try to keep with nature in that respect so people buy seasonal flowers. The one you can get away with year round is the hydrangea with deep red for winter then we have fresh almost lime green for spring.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Are there some flowers that just don’t work as faux?</h2>



<p>Even though it’s spring and daffs take centre stage in the garden, I’ve not found a daff good enough as a faux &#8211; they just don’t hit my criteria.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Do you ever mix faux and fresh?</h2>



<p>The only time I mix faux and fresh is when I use a fresh or real twig that’s not going to go mouldy.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191511.831.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144955" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191511.831.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191511.831-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191511.831-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191511.831-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191511.831-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Do you need a creative eye to get it right?</h2>



<p>With flower arrangements being more soft and natural, most things complement each other and really with faux flowers you can’t go wrong. I’ve got many friends who are not arty and might not appreciate nature and flowers and just for a laugh I’ve said arrange these, but after a few attempts they get there in the end. I get it wrong sometimes too &#8211; not all arrangements make the cut. I have to stay true to myself and my style and sometimes I’ll show my husband and he’ll be honest and say it’s just not right. Then it doesn’t go on sale.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">So there’s no cardinal rules?</h2>



<p>I do have a golden rule that with the main showpiece flowers, you should have an odd number of stems though having said that I break that myself sometimes. The biggest no-no, really though, is not buying decent quality to start with and then cutting stems so you can’t easily reuse them. But you can’t really go wrong and unlike fresh cut flowers, it’s so easy to take the flowers out and start again, which is hard with real flowers because you’ve cut the length and the stems are in water.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What if you’re not confident enough to arrange them yourself?</h2>



<p>I also offer pre designed displays that come untied for people to arrange themselves and I’ve just launched my unique displays &#8211; one off pre-arranged arrangements that are cut to a specific length and tied so they just need to be put into a vase.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191856.391.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144953" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191856.391.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191856.391-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191856.391-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-25T191856.391-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What other ways can you style your flowers?</h2>



<p>Away from vase arrangements I love to dress my fireplace mantle or create table arrangements that don’t include a vase but use a tray. I do that by layering them to hide the stems and bend the flowers so they’re pointing upwards. I have had a couple of requests for wreaths for cemeteries &#8211; I can see the logic in that, but also door wreaths are becoming more popular.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How do you look after artificial flowers? Can they last forever?</h2>



<p>They are so easy to maintain. The biggest no-no with the real touch flowers is that you don’t want to use a fibre cloth on them because the fibres can stick to the real-touch petal. The only flower I feel like I need to wipe is the lily with a very slightly damp cloth because the petals are larger. With the others, it’s best to blow them with a cool hair dryer and blow off the dust and I’d say that’s literally it &#8211; you really cannot go wrong.&nbsp;</p>


Faux flowers are having a moment – here’s how to style them

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