OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. - Landscaping with artificial flowers calls for a sharp eye to detail.

"You want to do it in good taste," advises Shelley Greenberg of TerracottaHome in Great Neck, which sells faux flowers. "You need to have a good idea what the actual plant looks like in real life and mimic it."

She and others offer some tips:

Picking flowers: Color matters, says Mary Careccia, a floral designer at Michael's arts and crafts store in Westbury. "I don't like putting blue lilies outside," says Careccia. "You start putting weird blue things out there and it's a giveaway."

Similarly, Greenberg and Careccia suggest changing flowers with the season. Start with daffodils, tulips and pansies in the spring, then swap them for summer black-eyed Susans and sunflowers.

Location: Red, white or pink silk geraniums paired with ivy make impressive window or terrace boxes, which Greenberg says, often receive too much sun and too little water to keep plants alive. In other problem growing areas, such as under full shade trees and bushes, try mixing stems of faux flowers with others already growing.

Arranging: Sparse, lush, short, tall … there aren't any rules when it comes to the particulars. To create an outdoor arrangement, fill the container with tightly packed foam and layer it with greenery - trailing vines, ivy, grasses. Finish with flowers of varying heights.

"When you see things growing outside, it's all different heights and sizes," Careccia says. "You don't want things lined up like soldiers. You want it to look real."