Caring for your Sona

Keep this mix in a clean vase of cool, fresh water and stand it out of direct sun and away from any draught or fruit bowl, since the roses in particular drink heavily and will droop quickly if the water runs low or warm. Give the hydrangea special attention: it takes up moisture through its petals as much as its stem, so a light mist of the heads and a deep drink revives it faster than anything else. The rose and gerbera stems both prefer a clean diagonal cut and only a few centimetres of water for the gerbera, whose stems soften if left to sit too deep. Handle the tall eremurus and the snapdragon spires gently when you reposition them, as their stems bruise and bend, and lift any spent lower florets so the orchid and fern can carry the arrangement through its second week.

A note on your specific blooms

  • 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.
  • Fern — Keep fronds out of direct sun and mist them occasionally, as ferns lose moisture through their leaves faster than most cut greenery.
  • Gerbera — Gerbera has fragile stems — use shallow, clean water and support the heads.
  • 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.
  • 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 arrangement to hold for roughly 5–9 days as a whole, with its character shifting gracefully as the shorter-lived blooms give way to the steadier ones. The hydrangea is the first to soften, usually fading within 4–7 days, and the gerbera and rose follow close behind at around 5–8 and 5–7 days. The eremurus, fern, and snapdragon sit comfortably in the middle of that window, while the orchid carries on far longest, often staying fresh for two to three weeks after the rest have been cleared. To get the most from a Sona, change the water every two days and trim a sliver from each stem at the same time — it is the single habit that keeps the thirstier blooms drinking and stretches the whole display, and it is what we recommend to anyone bringing an Amicis bouquet home.

The story behind these flowers

A closer look at the blooms gathered into this arrangement.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.