Caring for your Hilal Bloom

Keep this mix in a clean, deep vessel and change the water every couple of days, since the roses are heavy drinkers and the delphinium and snapdragon spikes tire quickly when their water runs low or clouds. Re-cut every stem on a sharp diagonal, and split or lightly crush the woody bases of the ruscus and calla lily so they take up water properly. The hydrangea drinks through its petals as much as its stem, so a light mist on a wilting head will often revive it within the hour. Give the anthurium and orchid a little space rather than crowding them, set the whole arrangement away from direct sun and fruit, and lift out the softer delphinium florets as they fade so the lasting blooms stay the focus.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Anthurium — Anthurium prefers warmth — keep it away from the cold and wipe the leaf gently.
  • Calla Lily — Re-cut the thick, fleshy stems on an angle and keep water shallow, as callas are prone to softening if stood too deep.
  • Delphinium — Keep the tall stems in deep, fresh water and out of draughts, as Delphinium drinks heavily and wilts quickly if the vase runs low.
  • Hydrangea — Hydrangea takes up water through its petals — mist the heads and keep the vase topped up.
  • Orchid — Keep orchid stems in cool, clean water away from ripening fruit, whose ethylene gas makes the blooms drop early.
  • Rose — Roses drink heavily — re-cut the stems at an angle every couple of days.
  • Ruscus — Strip any cladophylls that would sit below the waterline, as submerged foliage clouds the vase and shortens the life of the flowers around it.
  • Snapdragon — Trim the stems on a sharp angle and refresh the water often, as snapdragons drink heavily. The florets open from the bottom of the spike upward, so pinch away the lower blooms as they fade to keep the spire looking fresh.
  • Solidago — Trim the stems on a slant and refresh the water often, as its dense plumes drink quickly and can cloud the vase.

How long your flowers last

Expect this arrangement to hold its composure for roughly 5–7 days at its fullest, with the structural blooms carrying it well beyond that. The delphinium and snapdragon are the first to soften, shedding their lower florets within five days or so, and the roses and hydrangea follow a similar window. Holding longest are the anthurium and orchid, which stay sculptural for two to three weeks, alongside the woody ruscus that frames them. The single most useful habit is a fresh diagonal cut and clean water every two days, which is how Amicis keeps the long-lasting stems looking deliberate long after the softer ones have been edited away.

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.

Calla Lily

Origin

Southern Africa

Cultivated since

Reached Europe in the 1600s

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Grace, purity & devotion

Native to southern Africa, the calla's signature is not a petal at all but a single furled spathe wrapped around a slender golden spadix. That clean, sculptural curve is why it reads as architecture rather than bloom – one stem lends an Amicis arrangement quiet, modern poise.

Delphinium

Origin

Native across the Northern Hemisphere, through Europe and Asia

Cultivated since

In European gardens for centuries

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Openness, lightness & positivity

Named from the Greek for dolphin, after the shape of the flower itself, Delphinium carries blooms in graduated spires of cobalt, violet and white. That vertical line is what makes it indispensable in an arrangement - it draws the eye upward and gives an Amicis design its sense of height and architecture.

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.

Orchid

Origin

Tropical regions worldwide

Cultivated since

Prized in Asia for centuries; carried to Europe across the 18th and 19th centuries

Fragrance

Most cut varieties virtually scentless

Symbolises

Refinement, luxury & rare beauty

Among the largest plant families on earth, orchids took root across the tropics of Asia and the Americas, cultivated in Asia long before reaching the West. Victorian collectors then chased them across the globe, fuelling a famous European craze. Their arched stems and sculptural blooms bring quiet architecture to an arrangement, holding their form for weeks where softer flowers fade.

Rose

Origin

Asia — China, Persia & the Mediterranean

Cultivated since

Over 5,000 years

Fragrance

Warm and sweet, of honey & tea

Symbolises

Love, gratitude & admiration

The most storied flower in the world, grown and gifted for five millennia. Its layered petals and soft scent have made it the universal language of affection — and the quiet anchor of almost every Amicis arrangement.

Ruscus

Origin

Mediterranean and adjacent regions, from Macaronesia east toward Iran

Described

By Linnaeus in 1753

Fragrance

Virtually unscented

Symbolises

Structure, endurance & quiet form

What read as leaves on Ruscus are flattened stems called cladophylls, which is why each glossy arch holds its shape long after softer greenery fades. In an Amicis arrangement it does the structural work - drawing the eye through a bouquet and giving roses and peonies a deep green frame to settle against.

Snapdragon

Origin

The western Mediterranean

Cultivated since

For centuries in European gardens

Fragrance

Soft and faintly sweet

Symbolises

Grace, strength & resilience

Named for the hinged bloom that opens like a dragon's mouth when pressed, the snapdragon climbs its stem in a tapering spire of colour. The florets open from the base upward, so the spire is always part open, part bud — a vertical line that gives an arrangement its height and architecture, drawing the eye upward and lending Amicis bouquets a quiet sense of movement.

Solidago

Origin

North America

Cultivated since

Reached European gardens in the 1600s

Fragrance

Soft and lightly grassy

Symbolises

Warmth, texture & encouragement

Native to North America, Solidago carries clouds of tiny golden florets on feathery plumes. In an arrangement it is the quiet connective tissue - softening the gaps between focal blooms and lending a sunlit, airy movement that keeps a composition from feeling crowded.