I've embraced the idea of faux flowers...... I think. There is no doubt about it, there is no comparison to the real thing-- the depth of color, the subtlety, the fragrance.... I even like the imperfection you get with real flowers, which is certainly what you get if you don't stay on top of fertilizing and controlling disease... (hah, I should have pulled off that nasty-looking leaf in the front).

But they soon wilt and fade away and, with my very limited free time, I tend to forget about them until suddenly the house is filled with the lovely aroma of rotting vegetation.  

"Hey Hon, why does the house smell like a swamp?" I hear my my husband ask loudly from the other room as I stand and stare sadly at my brown and dead flowers. Why indeed.  Because I haven't had the time or energy to put together new flower arrangements.  

One of my favorite time-saving tricks is to buy flowers from the grocery store and then augment them with roses from my garden. The colors of these 'Graham Thomas', 'English Rose', 'Evelyn', and 'Pat Austin' roses are especially lovely.....   



......when mixed with the brilliant fall flowers that are available everywhere right now.  Not having much in the way of interesting berries growing in my yard or near my home right now, and being nervous about bringing anything that might be toxic to my dogs into our house, I like to use the many imitation berries that are available in craft stores to add a pop of fall color.  Dried flowers add interesting texture-- as shown below.