Remember when I posted this picture of my front porch?
I was SO ALL ABOUT IT.
We painted our porch gray and I wanted to go with a new look for this year, so I took the elevator to the neutral floor. I mixed white pumpkins from Trader Joe’s with faux white pumpkins and scattered in a little eucalyptus.
The eucalyptus was real.
I bought it at Trader Joe’s when I bought the pumpkins. Eucalyptus at Trader Joe’s is NOT expensive at all. It’s $2.99/small bundle and to create this look on the porch I needed about 7 bundles.
And that sounds like a bargain, right?
Only $21.00 for florals to create a beautiful neutral look for your front porch for fall.
And then?
This happened.
Please only look for a minute and then look away.
You might not want to be friends with someone who had this on their front porch for TWO WEEKS.
All that beautiful eucalyptus that looked so pretty in all the pictures?
It turned into a hot mess in a hot minute due to all the hot temperatures we had in Texas.
I tried to act like it looked pretty dried up like this—like I was going for a vintage—kind of faded look. Every time I walked past it to get the mail I would avert my eyes and look away. Until one day I brushed up against it and it crackled off onto the porch floor.
Pitiful.
Super pitiful.
Dismal and distressing and heartrending with a side of lamentable on top.
And then?
I came up with a brilliant idea.
Truth?
I’m not really sure where it came from? My brain? A show? Another blog? A coffee-induced vision?
What about faux eucalyptus?
Just between us, I wasn’t even sure pretty, cute, real-looking eucalyptus was even a thing? I still haven’t recovered from the pitiful faux eucalyptus circa 1990 that I’ve seen at every yard sale since 2001.
But this is 2019.
There are miracles friends. Beautiful wonderful things that you can google and order online and they show up at your house in a matter of days. Like this incredible, amazing, super real-looking silver dollar eucalyptus that I found at Pottery Barn. In full transparency—it is a little bit more expensive than the Trader Joe’s version. But here’s the thing. It was on sale and I got free shipping and it will last from this fall to the next fall to the next and the next after that.
And that’s how I explained it to my husband. That actually, if you add up all the fresh eucalyptus I was going to buy—this faux eucalyptus is actually cheaper.
Right?
See the brilliance of my math?
You can see the Pottery Barn version here.
And now?
Here are the same urns with the new faux eucalyptus.
Doesn’t it look super similar?
And almost real?
A couple of quick points:
1. This is a covered porch, I’m not sure how well it would hold up out in the winter and fall elements.
2. I think the key to buying faux winter stems is reading the reviews and making sure the close-up photos look as real as possible.
3. The leaves of this eucalyptus look so much better from the front. I need to turn a few of these around to make it look even more real.
4. I had another brilliant idea that I should shop for some more winter stems online—especially ones that can go from Christmas to winter. Here are some of my favorites linked below.
5. In totally amazing news—our football team is playing the last seven minutes of one of the best football games I have ever seen today at 1:00. The game got called for lightning last night. We are the underdogs and we only need one more touchdown to win. Wester will be there cheering in her new letterman jacket because it went from 91 degrees yesterday to 51 degrees today.
I can’t decide which I’m more excited about.
The game?
Or the eucalyptus. 🙂
PS In the super affordable news department. I did find this garland marked down from $90 to $33.60 over on Magnolia if you need a Thanksgiving Day simple centerpiece.
You can see it here.
PPS Affiliate links are used in this post.
I guess it may be because I live on a fixed income these days ( UGH!!!! ... talk about exclamation points... 😉)... but I have ALWAYS used faux flowers/ greenery in my outdoor arrangements. That way, I can use them year after year ( because my tastes/decor rarely change or can't afford to change), or I may have to discard them after a few years, depending on how well they have held up to the elements, especially in winter. Glad you caught on.... 😉 👍😝...
Walmart has great faux eucalyptus leaves as well. Thank you for your wonderful ideas.
I bought the fresh from Trader Joe’s and it happened to mine also. It’s cool here and I had it in a covered porch! It got spots and dried and literally blew away,
Your faux eucalyptus looks great. I use GOOD faux green fillers and evergreens in my fall and winter outdoor containers and we live in Michigan with some harsh weather. I have found the sun is the hardest element on faux greens and flowers. They can fade quickly. We just don't have much sun in the winter, so mine have lasted for several years.
I have faux outdoor berries and stems i use year after year, your porch looks so festive. I have been gone for about 2 weeks and it was so nice and cool in Minnesota and came home and found it cool here, hope it will stay!
I love PB’s faux greens, florals, and succulents. I heard a YouTube gal say recently how unrealistic they were. I’m not sure to which PB she was referring (LOL) but, I’ve never met a PB item of ANY kind, much less the faux plants, that I didn’t swoon over. Glad your problem was solved. PB to the rescue. Darn it....now I want to go to PB.
Best of luck for your football team today 🤞 I love good faux greenery! Mixing it in with real greens and you can’t really see the difference. The everlasting eucalyptus looks great 🌞
I'm falling for the faux! Looks fab!! I hope your team pulls off a victory!!! xoxo
Great faux ideas. I would be more than happy to send you some of our brisk Minnesota weather today🥶. Okay not that bad....but we just had our last snow storm in mid April😳 I love Pottery Barn faux but I have also had great luck at specialty stores. We have a high end grocery store here that has amazing gift shops and their faux flowers and greens are comparable in price. Good luck on that game today🏈
Believe it or not, I actually really like the dried out, pale real eucalyptus. Maybe it’s a Massachusetts thing or maybe it’s triggering memories of my mother’s penchant for that 1970’s plastic eucalyptus. Scary, either way. 🤦♀️
Thanks for the Magnolia tip on the garland sale! I'm headed to the site right now. This is what I am thinking...buy the faux, and when using for a special dinner for my farm table, I will add in a snippet of real. It will be fuller and lovelier, and look all real in all it's glorious smells of greenery. Have a happy Friday, friend!
My daughter-in-love found some great eucalyptus at TJMaxx in the metroplex. I'm going to ours today to see if they have any here. It was REALLY REALISTIC looking - on both sides! My mother-in-law always keeps faux geranium blossoms around, and when her geraniums stop blooming or look sad, she just pops the faux blooms into the plants!
I like both...the dried eucalyptus can be saved and used in a wintery display. The faux foliage has come a looooong way since its beginnings. It's ALL good ! We are free to choose and there are oh so many choices...we live in an abundant world :)
Your story about the Eucalyptus fading in the heat and getting brittle made me remember when I made an elaborate Williamsburg style wreath with expensive. fresh fruit,hung it on the door of our new house in VA and watched the fruit cook in southern sun. This was in December but what did I know. Had moved down there from New England!! I learned to use faux fruit from then on and have loved it.
I'm totally okay with faux foliage, especially outside. But it can fade after spending quality time out in the weather. After it starts looking a little ratty, try some spray paint. A quick, light sweep of paint across the back or front, in a couple of similar colors, can create enough camouflage to blur the fading so it looks more natural again. (Or at least allow for a little more usage before it gets abandoned in the back of the shed.) I have even 'enhanced' dark green ferns with gold spray paint to give them some autumn, and stuck them with other things in wreaths, and they looked great. If it no longer looks as great as the day you bought it, you have nothing to lose by trying a little paint to freshen it up.
Great suggestion!
I really like what you found at PB. I had ordered what was supposed to be euchalyptus elsewhere online that actually looks like manzanita. Even my adult son says it does and we have some just outside on our property. Live and learn. My bad for not looking more closely at the pics. Enjoy yours.
I ALWYS spray a protectant on my faux foliage before I place them outside. (I also spray my outdoor pillows and cushions for added protection. It’s amazing how well things hold up and retain their color in full sun. In fact, I sprayed two buffalo checked pillow covers (put these over my outdoor pillows) with a water/fade repellant spray. Works like a charm and I saved money by purchasing only the pillow covers. Happy fall!
Living in hot country is a challenge!!!!!! I am a fan of PB faux foliage!!!!! Enjoy melt proof Foliage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love it. I’m going with an Australiana theme for Christmas and our local shops are filled with beautiful faux eucalyptus wreaths garlands and decor. This looks beautiful. I have the opposite problem unsure how they’ll hold up covered in 110 degrees.
I buy the Trader Joe’s eucalyptus often and love it so but never tried to use it outside. Your faux looks so real and I am loving your fall neutral porch.
Love that your husband sees the “brilliance “ of your math! Makes perfect sense (or dollars) to me. LOL! Your porch looks great!
Okay... when I saw those crunchy eucalyptus leaves, it crossed my mind... for a just a brief moment, to unsubscribe.... NOT! You crack me up, girl! Love the new leaves, and your suggestions, as always!
I just found faux seeded eucalyptus garland at Hobby Lobby for 50 percent off (12.50). Today I noticed they have another eucalyptus garland for $34. but there is 50 percent off again this week so it's really reasonable.
Hello everyone, it's my first visit at this website, and post is truly fruitful in support of me, keep up posting these types of posts.