Floral Embellishment: Doesn’t Really Matter if it’s Real or Fake
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Bill Primavera
Between my junior and senior years in college, I won an internship scholarship to participate in a summer program for aspiring museum curators at that fabulous restored village known as Historic Deerfield in Massachusetts.
The village consisted of a mile-long stretch of historic houses built between the early 1730s to the late 1840s, and its purpose was to preserve and demonstrate the New England way of life in all its aspects.
The initiation of its life to fulfill those purposes was made possible by the generous philanthropy of a couple who were both still alive when I participated as an intern and tour guide.
There was one funny anomaly that we interns used to joke about. The distaff side of the founding couple never saw an antique vase that she didn’t want to fill with flowers. But those flowers were not real, dried or of silk but rather – probably to avoid daily care – they were of the cheapest plastic varieties imaginable and stood in sharp contrast to the expensive vessels they filled.
That experience left me with a lasting impression that I would never use fake flowers in any of the vases in my home.
But in those days, decades before the internet, I was not aware of any sources that could supply flowers that were more realistic looking. Today, however, as internet searches would reveal, those resources exist in abundance. And they can be used creatively.
For instance, some years ago, my wife purchased some yellow silk tulips that looked as close to real as they could be and, whenever she purchased real tulips, she would mix the fake with the real to create more spectacular displays.
Also, I developed an interest in preserving interesting looking flowers and other plants by drying them, hoping that they would retain a good deal of their original colors, rather than turning brown. I would find good possibilities along highways as I traveled a long commute to and from work, sometimes drawing stares from passing motorists, including one police officer who stopped to ask me why I was on my knees by the side of a very busy road.
And I’ve delighted in sometimes finding an old book in which some romantic soul has pressed a flower or four-leaf clover.
All my life, I’ve been aware that I’ve looked for devices that help get me through the day. More than that, I’ve looked for ways that do more than supply just basic needs. Chocolate and ice cream have supplied two of those devices, but a great non-caloric mood booster has been sharing space with flowers, whether real or fake.
Bill Primavera is a realtor associated with William Raveis Real Estate and founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc., specializing in lifestyles, real estate and development. To engage the services of The Home Guru and his team to market your home for sale, call 914-522-2076.
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