Faux florals by Jane Packer are not words that naturally sit together.
But last Tuesday I visited the London shop of the world renowned florist; to have a look at the new range of faux florals that she’s created exclusively for Sainsbury’s Home.
Now I’ve spoken about my love for faux florals before but these were something else entirely. The studio was FULL of the most extraordinarily beautiful blooms.
But it was so hard to tell what was real and what wasn’t.
Waxy leaves and velvety petals, tight buds and blowsy flowers. If I hadn’t been told which had been created by Mother Nature (and which were manmade variety) I’d have had a real job to tell them apart.
The range features peonies, garden roses, hydrangea heads and orchids in delicious pastel hues.
‘What’s in a name? That which we call a rose.
By any other name would smell as sweet.’
William Shakespeare
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Oh Faux Fabulous
Gorgeous aren’t they?
Styled in simple glass or ceramic pots and vases. These lovely everlasting plants and flowers will bring a real sense of the luxury of the Jane Packer brand to our homes.
Without the hefty price-tag that you associate with fresh florals.
Prices for the faux flowers and plants range from just £16 to £32
As well as the faux botanicals, the team have been busily creating a range of home fragrances too; reed diffusers, candles and room sprays. And these were amazing!!
I WISH that I was able to convey, with words, just how exquisite these smell. I literally couldn’t put them down. Scent is so evocative isn’t it? And these lovely fragrances had me transported back to hazy summers in beautiful English gardens.
There are to be three aromas in the collection.
Tuberose and Amber, Paperwhite and Jasmine, and finally, Violet and Peony — and they are all absolutely gorgeous.
Floral Magician
Whilst I was there I was also treated to a floral masterclass with the amazing Charlotte Slade.
Charlotte taught me — and a handful of other lucky journalists — to create the perfect hand-tied spring bouquet.
We mixed white tulips, jasmine and eucalyptus. Together with Japanese aralia, paperwhites and hyacinths — to name a few.
To make the sweetest smelling bouquet I’ve ever come across.
Practice Makes Perfect
I wish I could say that mine was as amazing as Charlotte’s but I’d be lying!
But whilst my bouquet was a little bit rough around the edges; and lacked the finesse of the perfect example made by our teacher. It was SO lovely to be guided by a professional florist.
I learnt tips and tricks that I will use at home. And I’ll definitely feel more confident buying and arranging flowers now.
Having said that, there may not be much call for fresh flowers; once I’ve invested in a couple of faux florals by Jane Packer ;)
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
I’ve always wanted to learn how to put a fabulous bouquet together!!! It looks like you had the most amazing day, Caro. So many pretty things! x
It was such a fun thing to learn — wish I’d had longer there though — it felt like I was literally leaving as soon as I’d arrived!
Oh I wish I could have come (was invited, but sadly couldn’t come) – looks like you had a wonderful day, and I’d love to have learnt the flower arranging tips (and to have met you!) x
NOOOO!!! Aaah Molly! We could have had a lovely girls day out!! Wish you’d been able to come — it was a fab day xx
Your bouquet looked lovely! I am a bit rubbish when it comes to arranging flowers, my Mum used to be a florist and she always ends up rearranging my flowers! I love the look of the faux florals, will keep an eye out in my local Sainsburys! x
Aah it was such a lovely thing to learn!! It’s looking a bit sad today though — think I may need to make myself another!! :)
I think my Sainsbury’s food shop bill will be increasing in May!! Beautiful flowers!
It looks like you had fun creating your arrangement.
XX
Amazing aren’t they? And YES!! I had so much fun making my posy :)
Oh wow these look so authentic – you really can’t tell the difference! Although I do love the smell of fresh flowers I would definitely adorn my house with these. At the moment I buy a fresh bunch each week from the supermarket, but it upsets me when they don’t look too clever one week! I will most definitely be going to Sainsburys to check these out. What a lovely day out xx #HomeEtc
They’re amazing — I genuinely couldn’t tell the difference! And yes — it was such a lovely day. A real treat to to be taught to tie a proper bouquet too!
Oh wow – I’ve not heard anything about this partnership before now but I’m now really excited! I’m a big peony fan, but the season is so short, and despite having 3 peonies in my garden I only get a few week’s worth of blooms from them. These look so realistic – I’m definitely going to swing by Sainsbury’s when it launches! #HomeEtc
Honestly Katy — I was so impressed!! I can’t wait til they hit the stores!
Wow these look amazing, especially the Peonies which are a real favourite of mine.
Your arrangement looks beautiful, what a fun day xx
They’re so gorgeous aren’t they? Amazing!
Wow these look amazing, I’ll be heading down to Sainsbury’s in May for sure! I’ve always been a bit wary of faux florals as they always look a bit ‘fake’ but these look fab! And I adore the smell of Jasmine! One of my faves. x
I had to ask if they were the fake ones!!! I honestly couldn’t tell the difference!! :)
Is it bad that I’d never heard of heard before? I love fresh flowers and would fill my house with them if I could, those reed fragrances aren’t a bad price at all either. I’ll be popping into my local Sainsburys soon to check them out.
I thought the prices were amazing!!! I want some of those room sprays — the amber and tuberose was my fave :)
Ah these are stunning! And how amazing to be taught how to make such a beautiful bouquet yourself. Gorgeous x #HomeEtc
It was such a lovely thing to learn Becky!! And honestly — the faux florals are AMAZING!! I can;t wait for them to be in the shops!!
I would love to have a flower arranging class! I always have really grand ideas in my head and then when I attempt it….well it is haphazard at best! Also how pretty are those faux flowers, so lovely. #HomeEtc
It was so interesting to get all of the pro tips! I will definitely, definitely remember to take them on board, next time I’m arranging a bunch at home! :)
Wow, this is an amazing opportunity to learn the ropes of such an exquisite art! Something I would love to do. Your photos really express the whole experience so well. Also looking forward to seeing that range in Sainsburys soon!
Thanks so much! It was a fab day — so nice to be taught to make a proper bouquet by an expert!! Especially using such incredible blooms too. Although I don’t think my local florist had half of the things that they had there!! ;)
I NEED some of these in my life and in my home! I love dressing my deer vase with a variety of fresh flowers, but find it so hard somehow to find decent fake ones to rotate- these look ace and so realistic! x
I was blown away by them Becky — honestly they were SO good!! Really difficult to tell the real and fake ones apart!! x
Faux flowers have really come on in leaps and bounds haven’t they? I can imagine that none of us would have looked twice at them a few years ago but now they’re absolutely stunning and that looks like such a fun day out! Xx
You’re so right!! The stems, especially, on old fashioned ‘fake’ flowers were the real giveaway!! These days they’re so good it’s really hard to tell them apart from real flowers! xx
I love this! What a lovely way to spend a day! Beautiful flowers xx
#HomeEtc
It was a fab day — so nice to be taught something that I’ll use in day to day life too! :)
What a lovely day out, I love your red lipstick by the way!
I’ve been meaning to try and get hold of some good quality faux flowers for a while so it’s great news that these will be available in Sainsburys.
#HomeEtc
It was a really fun day out — and the JP faux florals are absolutely amazing. Would definitely recommend!!
I wish we could smell through the screen, the scents sound amazing! Love the photo of you looking like you know what you’re doing! ;-) Sabrina xx
#HomeEtc
Honestly — they are absolutely GORGEOUS! I couldn’t put them down!!
Looks like a fab day! I only buy faux flowers for my orchidea pots – I keep the faux flower stems on them until they re-bloom. You can get some really beautiful flowers nowadays that are difficult to tell apart from the real deal :) Thanks for hosting #homeetc :)
Sanna!! You are a blooming genius!!! I have 4 Orchids at the moment that are not in bloom and they look SO ugly!! I hadn’t thought of adding fake orchids to the real pots!! Where do you buy yours from? Cx
Mine are from Amazon but I can’t remember which seller. I do want to get new ones though as I think they could be more lifelike. I just haven’t seen any really great ones yet.
I’ve got some brilliant faux orchids from a company called Bloom — but they don’t do just the flowers and they’re too expensive to cut them off! Will have a look on Amazon — thanks Sanna!!
This sounds so much like my sort of place/ day out :) I’m also a lover of faux florals and your post got me thinking and I have come to the realization that I have at least one faux floral in each room of the house; even the bathrooms!! (please insert emoticon covering my face here ;) )
Haha!! You’re in good company!!! I’m just the same — although I tend to pop them in dark, or windowless, corners of the house where real plants wouldn’t last five minutes!! I LOVE the new breed of faux florals though, they’re SO real!!!
OMG! I love these “fake” flowers – so beautiful! I shall be looking out for them. Looks like you had a lovely day – perfect!
Awesome aren’t they?! Can’t wait for them to hit the shops! :)
Looks like you had an amazing day!
It was SO fab!!! Amazing to see behind the scenes and get a lesson from a pro!! :)