Caring for your Cute Blink

Keep Everleaf in cool, fresh water and out of direct sun. Change the water every two days and strip any foliage that sits below the waterline, which matters more in a green arrangement because there is so much of it. Mist the hydrangea head lightly at each water change. Wipe the anthurium and philodendron leaf with a soft damp cloth to keep their shine, since dust shows more clearly on green than on colour. Re-cut the gerbera on a sharp slant to keep its neck from bending.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Anthurium — Anthurium prefers warmth — keep it away from the cold and wipe the leaf gently.
  • Hydrangea — Hydrangea takes up water through its petals — mist the heads and keep the vase topped up.
  • Gerbera — Gerbera has fragile stems — use shallow, clean water and support the heads.
  • Chrysanthemum — Chrysanthemum is sensitive to murky water — strip the lower leaves and refresh it often.
  • Allium — Change the water often and keep it fresh, as Allium stems can release a faint onion odour into the vase.
  • Amaranthus — Recut the stems at an angle and keep the water shallow, as amaranthus drinks heavily and the lower stem softens quickly when submerged too deep.

How long your flowers last

Everleaf typically holds for 8-12 days, the longest-lasting arrangement in the collection. Green flowers generally outlive their coloured counterparts, and the anthurium here will run well past two weeks. The chrysanthemums give 10 days or more, the allium holds its shape as it dries, and the philodendron leaf stays glossy throughout. The gerbera is the shortest-lived at 5-7 days and the hydrangea will need water before anything else does.

The story behind these flowers

A closer look at the blooms gathered into this arrangement.

Anthurium

Origin

Rainforests of Colombia & Ecuador

Documented

By botanists in the 1870s

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Hospitality, confidence & beauty

The anthurium's glossy, sculptural 'bloom' is in fact a modified leaf, with a poised tropical architecture few flowers can match. It lends Amicis designs a clean, modern edge — and one of the longest vase lives in the bouquet.

Hydrangea

Origin

Japan & the Americas

Cultivated since

Reached European gardens in the 1700s

Fragrance

Very light, fresh and green

Symbolises

Heartfelt emotion & gratitude

Named from the Greek for 'water vessel', the hydrangea carries full, cloud-like heads that shift colour with the soil — from blush and cream to deep blue. Its generous volume gives Amicis bouquets their soft, romantic fullness.

Gerbera

Origin

South Africa

Described

By science in 1889

Fragrance

Barely scented, lightly fresh

Symbolises

Cheerfulness, warmth & innocence

The gerbera daisy brings open, sunlit colour and a graphic simplicity to a bouquet. Native to South Africa and loved worldwide, its clean single bloom adds brightness and a friendly, contemporary note to Amicis designs.

Chrysanthemum

Origin

East Asia — China & Japan

Cultivated since

Over 3,000 years in China

Fragrance

Soft, earthy and herbal

Symbolises

Longevity, joy & well-wishing

One of the oldest cultivated flowers, prized in China and Japan for three thousand years and honoured with its own festival. Its dense, textured heads bring depth and a long, dependable life to an arrangement.

Allium

Origin

Central Asia, the Mediterranean and the temperate Northern Hemisphere

Cultivated since

Ornamental use spread through Europe from the 1800s

Fragrance

Faintly oniony, otherwise clean

Symbolises

Unity, patience & strength

A member of the onion family, the Allium opens into a perfect sphere of tiny star-shaped florets held high on a bare stem. That clean geometry brings rhythm and altitude to an arrangement, drawing the eye upward and lending structure to softer, rounder blooms around it.

Amaranthus

Origin

Tropical Americas (Andes & Mesoamerica)

Cultivated since

For thousands of years by Andean & Mesoamerican peoples

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Immortality, unfading love & endurance

Grown across the Americas for millennia as both grain and ornament, amaranthus is best known for its long crimson tassels that spill downward in soft, trailing ropes. Its name comes from the Greek for unfading, a nod to blooms that hold colour and form even as they dry. In an arrangement it adds movement and weight, draping over the edge of a vessel to break a clean silhouette and lend an Amicis piece an unhurried, sculptural fall.