Fun With Floral Arrangements

I love, love, love flowers. The thing is, I live in the desert and I have a black thumb. So live ones in the garden are pretty much out. Luckily, I have all of inside to grace with the wonder that is silk. 

Though my overall style is pretty consistently rustic, I like traditional, ultra-feminine floral arrangements with white flowers and elegance. I have to try very hard to avoid "wedding" in my house, which is what happens when I create things like this:

Yeah. I don't know. I try to stay away from all white and mix in some color, but sometimes they turn out really girly and just a bit Asian-looking:

Hmm. Still not quite right. This one below is definitely my favorite in the whole house - I think I got a nice rich mix of color and texture while still staying neutral. 

That one's a little more rustic, with the "found objects" on the plate. Sorry for the flare, but I love natural sunlight pouring in on "flowers". 

Seasonally, I like to change it up. This one is heavy on the summer, for instance:

What do you do with your florals? Do you use real ones or faux flowers like me?