Caring for your Phoenix

Keep this bouquet cool and out of direct sun, away from the draught of an air conditioner, which the delphinium and snapdragon resent most. The hydrangea drinks largely through its petals as well as its stem, so a light misting of its heads revives it whenever it starts to flag. Give the whole arrangement deep, clean water and top it up often, since the fern and the orchid both fade fast if the level drops below their stems. Trim the woodier allium and agapanthus stems at an angle so they draw water freely, and lift the anthurium gently when refreshing the water, as its waxy spathe bruises under a firm grip.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Agapanthus — Trim the thick, fleshy stems on a slant and refresh the water often, as Agapanthus drinks heavily and clouds its vase quickly.
  • Allium — Change the water often and keep it fresh, as Allium stems can release a faint onion odour into the vase.
  • Anthurium — Anthurium prefers warmth — keep it away from the cold and wipe the leaf gently.
  • 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.
  • Fern — Keep fronds out of direct sun and mist them occasionally, as ferns lose moisture through their leaves faster than most cut greenery.
  • 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.
  • 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.

How long your flowers last

Expect this Phoenix arrangement to hold for 5 to 7 days overall, with its longest-lived stems carrying it beyond that. The delphinium and hydrangea soften first, the delphinium shedding its florets around day 5 to 7 and the hydrangea wilting quickly if it goes thirsty, setting the early pace of the bouquet. Holding longest are the anthurium and orchid, both staying composed for 2 to 3 weeks, with the allium trailing a week or more behind. The agapanthus and snapdragon sit in the middle at roughly a week, and the fern stays green for 7 to 14 days. To stretch the display, change the water every two days and recut the stems on a slant each time, the single habit that does most to keep an Amicis arrangement like this one fresh.

The story behind these flowers

A closer look at the blooms gathered into this arrangement.

Agapanthus

Origin

South Africa

In European gardens since

Reached Europe in the late 1600s

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Love, fertility & purity

Native to South Africa, Agapanthus takes its name from the Greek words for love and flower, and carries clusters of blue or white trumpets atop tall, bare stems. In an arrangement it reads as architecture - rounded umbels that lift the eye and lend an airy, sculptural rhythm above the lower blooms.

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.

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.

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.

Fern

Origin

Worldwide, in shaded woodlands and wetlands

Recorded

In the fossil record for hundreds of millions of years

Fragrance

Faint and green

Symbolises

Texture, depth & natural movement

One of the oldest plant lineages on Earth, ferns flourished long before the first flowering plant unfurled. In an arrangement their feathered, architectural fronds soften hard edges and lend a quiet woodland depth, the green foil that lets Amicis blooms read clean and considered.

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.

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.