Artifical Flowers???!!

Goes against my personal preferences, but caretaker at school suggested getting artifical plants to spell out the initials of the school. I'd rather use summer bedding plants but he's concerned over kids walking on them and the cost of replacing them each year... Anyone got any experience with artifical plants??

 

Artificial flowers are quite expensive. Apart from that though, I'd be worried about what they're teaching the kids at this school. 'Listen kids, sack nature, forget about rewarding hard work, just fill the planet with more plastic, its easier'.

 

A low cost and vandal proof method would be to arrange and shape the kids to spell the initials of the school ? ( Viz top tips 1987 )

 

Personally, I think artificial flowers would, (to use an expression the children themselves might use) 'look naff'. Bedding plants are going to be a fraction of the price and surely it isn't beyond those in charge at this school to tell the children not to walk over them? Who knows, it might even be one of those (few remaining) schools where the pupils actually take pride in their school and its grounds?

My only experience of artificial plants is when, in our last house, Mr. F'smum built a pergola and, whilst we were waiting for the climbing plants to grow, I put up half a dozen hanging baskets with 'silk' and plastic trailing plants in them. They looked quite nice, indeed quite convincing - from a distance - but then bits began dropping off and of course didn't rot down, they faded, got dirty, covered in 'guano' and generally looked cheap and tatty.

My only other thought though is, depending on how large this area is going to be, would the watering of real plants be a problem (with impending hosepipe bans)? Perhaps a few drought tolerant plants with the school initials picked out in something like cobble-stones might be a consideration.

 

exactly !!! tbh, the caretaker doesn't have the final word but he obviously has a say in how the school is run etc... i'll get some quote for 'real' plants and i'm sure the head will go with me - was more intrigued over artificial flowers. thanks

 

i know what you mean re drought! my only concern with stones, although sounds a lovely idea, is them going missing and being thrown around or used as footballs!!! bark mulch may look nice. the area will be fence off but this will be the 2nd attempt at the 'initials' idea - will let you know how I get on!

 

Thanks everyone - my worries about artificial flowers have been addressed in all your comments - will be great to back up my arguement against them

 

I bet if you phone round all the local nurseries and tell them its for the kids etc, I bet you'll get quite a few of your plants cheap or free

 

Ten to one they do not

Jack McH