Synthetic allure

I know of this woman whose yard is filled with nearly every species of tropical plant she could get her hands on. Standing in the middle of her lawns is breathtaking! For a second, your body is transported to a place where there are no worries…just beautiful butterflies floating around and birds chirping in the trees with the occasional ray of sunlight falling on your face. It did not help that we were served fresh juice right there in the garden.

Secrets in the garden
After a while, we were led to her large patio and I expected nothing less than more plants. Sure enough, there they were. There were potted plants of different heights arranged by the balcony rails, cascading in hanging baskets from the shed…What a paradise!
So naturally, we got into a conversation about maintenance. It turned out that most of the plants on her patio were synthetic. Upon this revelation, we all rushed to touch and pinch the display and true to her word, they are.

What a miracle! Especially for those of you who do not exactly have green thumbs. You get to have the look with less labour input. The plants on the lawns are taken care of by the weather. They are planted in the ground meaning that all she has to do is wait for rainfall or grab a hose pipe and freely splash water all over them.

If they were planted in pots as a replacement for the synthetic ones on the patio, she would have to meticulously water them making sure not to spill water on the floor, and regularly clean the pots in which they are placed plus prune each one faithfully, a routine that does not exactly work with her busy schedule.

Care and selection of plants
All she has to do is get the plants off the balcony once in a while, jet spray the lot, wait for them to dry then place them back on the patio, clean.

Synthetic plants have been transformed through the years. The trick though is to carefully select and purchase the plants that look more like the real thing. They used to fade and break quickly but they are now UV protected and sturdy enough to withstand outdoor temperatures. Also put into consideration that certain plant species do not grow in the Tropics and, therefore, a synthetic version of them at maturity height and in full blossom would be a dead giveaway.