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Everyone loves to have flowers in their homes. However, potted plants require constant maintenance and cut flowers quickly die.

The solution is to use high quality, life-like silk flowers. They are long lasting and other than an occasional dusting, they require no care.

• Best of all, high quality silk flowers are so life-like that it is often impossible to tell that they are 'fake', unless you actually touch them.

Perhaps one of the most important uses that silk flowers are put to is in the making of wedding bouquets.

• Silk flower wedding bouquets can be kept for decades, and if stored properly can be just as 'fresh-looking' when your daughter gets married as when you first walked down the isle.
• More important, you don't have to worry about your wedding bouquet drooping during the wedding.

Silk flowers are commonly used to embellish clothing, such as hats, dresses, shoes, and purses.

Silk flowers are also commonly used in the making of wreathes and swags that are used for a specific holiday or season, and then stored away for use each subsequent year.

Silk flower arrangements are admirably suitable for use on cemetery plots, in monument vases, or in mausoleums.

Silk flowers can be used anywhere, and in any situation in which 'real' or dried flowers could be used.

• Silk flowers are especially suited for used use in hard to reach areas, because they are long lasting and do not need to be watered.
• Silk flowers can also be used in areas where dried flowers cannot. For instance, dried flowers do not hold up well to humidity, so in a humid area such as the bathroom, silk flowers are much more functional.

Silk flowers are available for sale at most retail establishments. However, you will have access to a wider range of styles if you shop at a store that specializes in silk flowers. Several such specialty outlets are accessible through the Internet.

Most silk flowers are handmade by artisans who specialize in their production. These flowers are one-of-a-kind, and are usually made with the highest-grade material.

• Mass-produced, handmade silk flowers are also available. These mass-produced flowers tend to be of an inferior quality, and they lack the distinctiveness of individually made silk flowers.

Artisan quality, handmade silk flowers tend to be more life-like than their lower quality counterparts. They are also more expensive.

• If the flowers are going to be displayed where they can be minutely scrutinized, such as in a table's centerpiece, it is always best to buy quality silk flowers.

• If the flowers are going to be displayed in an out of the way location, or in an area in which they are likely to be damaged, it is best to go with a nice looking, but cheaper, mass-produced flowers.