Caring for your Amethyst

Keep this arrangement somewhere cool and out of direct sun, as its tropical anchors — anthurium, heliconia and bird of paradise — hold up best away from heat while the tulips and gerberas wilt quickly in a warm spot. The woody stems of the protea need a clean diagonal cut and a deep drink to draw water up their dense fibres, and the hydrangea benefits from a full vase since it takes in moisture through its petals as much as its stem. Gerbera stems are the most fragile here, so support them upright and keep the water shallow and clean to stop them bending or rotting at the base. Pull the hydrangea and tulips as they tire and the orchid, protea and anthurium will carry the composition on for another week.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Anthurium — Anthurium prefers warmth — keep it away from the cold and wipe the leaf gently.
  • Eremurus — Stake or support the tall stems and keep them upright, as the heavy flower spike will bend toward the light if left to lean.
  • Bird of Paradise — Recut the woody stem at an angle and refresh the water often, as this thirsty flower drinks heavily and lasts longest in a deep vase.
  • Protea — Strip any foliage below the waterline and refresh the water every two to three days, as protea leaves foul water quickly and shorten the bloom's life.
  • Heliconia — Keep it warm; Heliconia bruises and blackens below 12°C, so never refrigerate or sit it in a cold draught.
  • Allium — Change the water often and keep it fresh, as Allium stems can release a faint onion odour into the vase.
  • Craspedia — Give each stem a fresh diagonal cut and stand it in clean water; the bare stems need little else, and the golden heads hold for weeks.
  • Nerine — Keep the vase topped up but shallow, as Nerine stems are prone to softening if left in deep water.

How long your flowers last

Expect this mix to hold beautifully for roughly 7–10 days, with the timeline shaped by its quieter blooms rather than its architectural ones. The hydrangea is the first to soften, drinking heavily and fading around day 4–7, with the tulips and gerberas following close behind at 5–8 days. Holding longest are the sculptural elements — anthurium and orchid stretch to 2–3 weeks, while protea, heliconia and bird of paradise carry the arrangement's structure through 10–14 days. To get the most from every stem, recut the ends at an angle and refresh the water every two days; at Amicis we find this single habit does more than anything else to keep the Tropical Bloom looking composed.

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.

Eremurus

Origin

Western and Central Asia

Cultivated since

Brought into European gardens in the 19th century

Fragrance

Faint and honeyed

Symbolises

Endurance, stature & grace

Native to the dry, rocky slopes of Western and Central Asia, Eremurus is known as the foxtail lily for its towering spire of hundreds of tiny star-shaped florets that open slowly from the base upward. In an arrangement it brings vertical drama and architecture, drawing the eye skyward and giving an Amicis design its sense of scale.

Bird of Paradise

Origin

South Africa

Described

By science in the late 1700s

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Freedom, joy & magnificence

Named for its likeness to a tropical bird in flight, Strelitzia reginae was carried from the South African coast to Kew in the late 1700s and dedicated to Queen Charlotte. Its orange crest and blue tongue give any arrangement an architectural lift, holding their shape long after softer blooms have faded.

Protea

Origin

South Africa's Cape Floristic region

Described

By Linnaeus, mid-1700s

Fragrance

Faint and honeyed

Symbolises

Resilience, diversity & courage

Named for Proteus, the shape-shifting sea god, the protea answers to a genus so varied it seems to change form at will. Its architectural bracts and sculptural silhouette bring weight and structure to an arrangement, holding the eye as a single, deliberate focal point.

Heliconia

Origin

Tropical Americas (a few species Pacific/Indonesia)

Named

By Linnaeus in 1771

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Boldness, return & exotic beauty

Linnaeus named the genus after Mount Helicon, home of the Greek muses, and the flower lives up to the billing. What reads as a bloom is a fan of waxy bracts, lacquered in scarlet, gold and pink, that lends an Amicis arrangement clean tropical architecture and lines that hold from across a room.

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.

Craspedia

Origin

Australia and New Zealand

Described

By science in the late 1700s

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Good health, optimism & cheer

A wildflower of Australian grasslands and alpine meadows, Craspedia carries a single perfect sphere of densely packed golden florets on a slender, leafless stem. That graphic, button-round form brings rhythm and a flash of warm colour to an arrangement - and because it dries beautifully, it holds its shape long after the rest has faded.

Nerine

Origin

South Africa's Cape Provinces

Cultivated since

Grown in Europe for over 300 years

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Good fortune & rare grace

A South African native carried to Europe by the seventeenth century, where it took root on Guernsey and earned the name Guernsey lily, Nerine opens in autumn when most blooms have faded. Its spider-fine petals carry a faint shimmer that catches the light, lending an Amicis arrangement a jewel-like, late-season elegance.