Plastic or Real Flowers

You could do a mix...have real greenery and artificial blooms! Buy greenery plants that are drought tolerant!

Please, please, please do not put plastic flowers outdoors. Please. I can't imagine much that would be in poorer taste. Go to a local nursery and ask what you can plant that would be good for your area that requires little work. All climates have native plants that will survive with very little upkeep and they will look much, much better than fake flowers I promise!

I don't think real flowers require a lot of water. I guess it depends upon how many flowers you are planning on planting but, when I lived in an apartment in LA, I planted some flowers in flower boxes on my balcony and they only required maybe a quart of water each day or so. I really didn't think that was too unreasonable. Of course, I'm partial to having real flowers around whenever possible.

Get some big, leafy ferns, spikes and some flowers that don't require a HUGE amount of water. Personally, I hate plastic, but they ARE maintenance-free!

personally i LOVE live flowers - my mom has a total green thumb and i have always wanted that "ideal" yard - however! if you're talking a balcony or something small i think fake flowers would be nice and look good too......

You could plant succulents, which are desert plants. There are some really nice ones, and the variety is surprisingly large. If it can survive the desert it should be able to make it in a window box. Maybe miniature sunflowers would be hardy. I found a retail website which has lots of pictures of different varieties and some stone garden kits. http://www.simplysucculents.com/online-store. Here's another page for drought resistant perennials. http://www.gardeners.com/Drought-Tolerant-Perennials/5498... There should be a way to have live plants with minimal maintenance. I agree with Mommyof2Boys, if you do artificial plants a mix would be the most convincing. Thanks, now I'm looking at gardening websites, you've inspired me.

I found this post on the second website:

"Here are a few of the drought-tolerant plants I have in my garden. They survive our Texas heat with little watering perfectly:

* Salvia greggii
* Butterfly bush
* Thyme
* Daylilies
* Artemesia
* Rockrose
* Coneflower
* Ice plant
* Four-nerve daisy
* Mexican hat
* Black-eyed Susan
* Columbine

-Olga, Dallas, Texas "

My MIL and her sister have tons of succulents. They require very little water and care. There are all different types too. I had only seen a few, but they go to plant shows and come back with all sorts of cool looking ones. Even ones that occassionaly sprout small flowers.
http://www.thegardenpages.com/page2.html#Aeonium
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/succulents-101-marth...

Plant real outdoor plants rather than flowers. Use a watering bulb or even a long neck bottle to keep the dirt moist.

My vote would be for real flowers, especially if you love plants. I would think you'd be able to find something that only requires water every few days.

I garden to excess.
But I wasn't always that way.
What I would suggest, since it interests you, is to start with one plant in one pot and see how it goes.Then you can move on to another plant, different pots, etc.
Find a garden center/nursery you like.
Try one thing at a time.
I would LOOOOVE to live in an area where you can grow things all year long. So you have a lot of options.
(And it's good for the kid too, take him with you, pick out a plant he likes, water it, tend to it....he'll think it's pretty cool)

:)