A very long time ago, I visited my neighbor and dear friend in Illinois and saw a plant she had next to her window. By golly! It looked like an anthurium, a beautiful anthurium! I could hardly believe it! She said her mother had given it to her and it seemed to bloom forever. A few weeks later, there it was still blooming. I know anthuriums bloom for a long time, but this seemed to be breaking records. My friend said it had been blooming for months. OK... now that would be good enough for the Guiness Book of World Records.
"You know," I said, "Those are not anthurium leaves as I know them. Maybe they're a different species? Anthurium leaves should be heart-shaped."
My friend reassured me that she'd been watering it for a long time.
Still... being the suspicious sort, I went closer to investigate and burst out laughing. It was a silk anthurium flower that had been poked into a potted plant.
"No wonder it's been blooming for six months!" said my astonished friend.
It makes me smile every time I think about that incident.
Well.... the other night Art and I went for our evening walk and saw an amazing sight. We stopped and stared at these gorgeous flowers. Many of my neighbors have green thumbs unlike my brown ones, so I wasn't surprised that there were flowers this gorgeous.
However, they were awfully huge for the size of the leaves. Since we happened to have our iPhone, Art took a photo of it for fun. We thought we might be able to find out what the name of the plant was when we got home.
While he was taking the photo I noticed something strange. There were two long, dowel like sticks in the bush attached to the flowers!
Art was perplexed when I erupted with laughter.
"They're fake!" I choked out.
"No way..." he pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows.
He looked closely and discovered that sure enough, this neighbor was having fun with everybody.
This has me thinking. Remember that Desert Rose that I've nearly killed in our front yard? Maybe I should stick some fake flowers on it. Who knows? Maybe it will fool some of the people some of the time...
My friend reassured me that she'd been watering it for a long time.
Still... being the suspicious sort, I went closer to investigate and burst out laughing. It was a silk anthurium flower that had been poked into a potted plant.
"No wonder it's been blooming for six months!" said my astonished friend.
It makes me smile every time I think about that incident.
Well.... the other night Art and I went for our evening walk and saw an amazing sight. We stopped and stared at these gorgeous flowers. Many of my neighbors have green thumbs unlike my brown ones, so I wasn't surprised that there were flowers this gorgeous.
While he was taking the photo I noticed something strange. There were two long, dowel like sticks in the bush attached to the flowers!
Art was perplexed when I erupted with laughter.
"They're fake!" I choked out.
"No way..." he pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows.
He looked closely and discovered that sure enough, this neighbor was having fun with everybody.
This has me thinking. Remember that Desert Rose that I've nearly killed in our front yard? Maybe I should stick some fake flowers on it. Who knows? Maybe it will fool some of the people some of the time...
oh my gosh, what a hoot!!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!!!!
That is so funny and such a jolly good idea. I wonder would it work for me because I do not have a green thumb at all!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for my morning laugh! Good deductions Kay! It's funny the anthurium lady didn't know and it was her own plant!
ReplyDeleteActually her mom had given it to her so she didn't realize the artificial nature of it since it was "blooming" when she got it.
DeletePretty clever, but you were one of the people that your neighbor's flower didn't fool. They do make pretty real looking silk flowers these days.
ReplyDeleteHa! Pretty funny.Now you will be suspicious of really beautiful flowers, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteWhy not? I do not have a green thumb and our property suffers from my lack of gardening skills. Perhaps you have found my salvation. WhooHoo!
ReplyDeleteOh dear. Are we really going to have fake everything. Too scary for me. Dianne
ReplyDeleteHow funny.
ReplyDeleteI was in the bank the other and was raving over the orchid that had such beautiful blooms. I asked how they got it to bloom cause I'm not having any luck with mine. When I finally shut up she said, it's fake! Ha sure are some pretty ones out there, uh?
There's been so many fake orchids I've been tempted to get but my mom won't let me.
DeleteHow cute! If my Kansas hibiscus have trouble, I'll have to pin some fake ones on the plants. DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteToo funny!
DeleteFunny, just yesterday, I suggested we place artificial flowers at his ancestor's grave site (Nuuanu Mortuary) instead of fresh flowers. It would be easier since the mortuary has been having budgetary maintenance issues and they asked everyone to do their own disposal. This way, we can still visit and instead of bringing flowers I suggested we clean and polish the marble on Memorial Day. The gravestone sits under a tree and accumulates lots of debris.
ReplyDeleteOn my mother's memorial, I have artificial bunch of flowers and an orchid plant that looks so real, I am pleased that it always looks cheerful. I think that's the main thing, not whether it is real.
L. from W.
Orchids are another flower that really looks great as fakes. So long as the fake flowers are not in the sun, they hold up very well. Otherwise, the sun tends to fade everything. My grandparents are at Nuuanu Memorial Park also. I didn't know about the self maintenance thing.
DeleteThe fake flower issue is complicated by the fact that REAL anthuriums appear to be FAKE. They are so waxy looking. We used to receive quantities of them from our relatives in Hilo when we lived on the Mainland. When I first saw them, I thought, "Wow, are those real or are they fake?" The anthuriums were real but they looked fake. There's a lesson buried here but I can't find it. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're very right! Anthuriums do have that fake waxy look. It's never been my absolute favorite flower but they are so very durable.
DeleteI definitely think you should apply the fake process to your plant. Someone has gone to all that trouble of creating beautiful fake flowers. You should take advantage of their talent.
ReplyDeleteIt is a nice idea..I have some flower plants that never got flowers..I think i should put some fake ones and make it look real..:)
ReplyDeleteIt's very funny that your friend didn't know her flower was fake. I don't mind decorating with fake flowers indoors, but please, not outdoors.
ReplyDeleteuh-uh, they're more bountiful than you may have known.
ReplyDelete