Caring for your Box Small

Do not add water. Keep Box Small in a dry indoor position away from direct sun, bathrooms, kitchens and strong air-conditioning. Dust gently with a soft brush or cool air, and handle the preserved hydrangea and cotton with care.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Cotton — Keep the dried bolls dry and out of humidity, which can flatten and discolour the fibre - no water is needed.
  • Eucalyptus — Strip any lower leaves that would sit below the waterline and re-cut the woody stems on a diagonal to keep them drinking.
  • Hydrangea — Hydrangea takes up water through its petals — mist the heads and keep the vase topped up.

How long your flowers last

Box Small is a dried and preserved decorative piece, so it is designed to last for months rather than days when kept dry. Direct sun, humidity and frequent handling will shorten its life and may fade the hydrangea and palm leaves.

The story behind these flowers

A closer look at the blooms gathered into this arrangement.

Cotton

Origin

Cultivated species native to the Americas; also domesticated independently in the Old World

Cultivated since

Antiquity – thousands of years

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Softness, warmth & comfort

The cotton of floristry comes from species first cultivated in the Americas, where it was grown for thousands of years - though the wider genus was domesticated independently in Africa and Asia too. It arrives in an arrangement as the boll rather than the bloom, a soft burst of fibre splitting from its woody husk. Its matte, tactile white reads as quiet texture against fresh stems, lending an Amicis composition structure and an unhurried, wintry calm.

Eucalyptus

Origin

Australia

Described

By European botanists in the late 1700s

Fragrance

Fresh, cool and herbaceous

Symbolises

Calm, clarity & protection

Native to Australia, where it makes up the majority of the continent's tree cover, eucalyptus carries a cool, mentholic scent in its silvered leaves. As foliage it brings movement and soft structure to an arrangement, its blue-grey tones letting blooms read clearly against a quieter ground.

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.