I have killed more than my fair share of plants in my day.  I love the idea of decorating with plants, but at Chez Callan, you’re hard-pressed to find any of them living in harmony inside or outside our home.  The only ones with a fighting chance outside are the ones that came with the house and were planted in the ground.  Once I bring home anything flowering and beautiful, they might as well have been dropped into the Sahara.  After one or two waterings (if that), I completely lose track of their watering schedule and they just wither away into dry, brittle twigs.  Every time.

So when giving decorating advice to clients and I suggest a plant or two, if that client says, “I’m not good with plants,” I say, “Welcome to my world.”

All of those designers out there who bitch about fake plants can kiss my butt.

That said, there are good fakers and bad fakers out on the market.  I am not here to express some deep, abiding love for Fancy Plants.™  When it comes to faux greenery that can pass for real, there are two stores that are my go-to places for good-looking fake plants: Crate & Barrel and Pier 1.

At Crate & Barrel:

Potted Grass, $9.95

Potted Grass, $9.95

Potted Succulents, $14.95-$29.95.

Potted Succulents, $14.95-$29.95.

At Pier 1:

Potted Agave, $35.

Potted Agave, $35.

Artificial Succulent on Stem, $8.

Artificial Succulent on Stem, $8.

Artificial Mini Succulents, $10/set of 3.

Artificial Mini Succulents, $10/set of 3.

Of course, it’s easier to fake a succulent than most other plants, but whatever works, right?