Caring for your The Townhouse Touch

Keep this bouquet somewhere cool and out of direct sun, since the roses and hydrangea are the thirstiest stems here and will wilt fastest if the vase runs low. Top up the water daily and give it a deep drink — the hydrangea takes in moisture through its petals as much as its stem, so a light misting of the bloom heads helps it hold. The roses and tulips prefer a clean cut on the diagonal to drink freely, while the woody forsythia stems benefit from a slightly deeper trim to open them up. Handle the gladioli and the orchid spray gently, as their stems are the most easily bruised, and pinch off the lower gladiolus florets as they tire to push energy toward the buds above. Strip any leaves that sit below the waterline so the arrangement stays clear and clean.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Chrysanthemum — Chrysanthemum is sensitive to murky water — strip the lower leaves and refresh it often.
  • Forsythia — Recut the woody stems on a sharp angle and split the base so they draw water freely, and keep them in a cool spot to hold the blooms longer.
  • Gladiolus — Trim the stem and pinch off the topmost faded buds to push the remaining florets up the spike into bloom.
  • 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.
  • Tulip — Tulips keep growing in the vase and lean toward light, so use a tall, supportive vessel and turn it daily to keep the stems straight.

How long your flowers last

Expect this arrangement to look its best for roughly 5–9 days, the natural result of pairing short-lived blooms with steadier ones. The hydrangea is the first to soften, usually fading by day four or five, with the roses and tulips close behind at five to seven days. Holding the composition together are the orchids, which can stay fresh for two to three weeks, while the chrysanthemums, forsythia, and gladioli carry the middle ground at a week or more. To get the longest life from the mix, the single most useful habit is to refresh the water every two days and trim the stems each time you do — the step the Amicis team relies on most to keep a bouquet like this open and upright.

The story behind these flowers

A closer look at the blooms gathered into this arrangement.

Chrysanthemum

Origin

East Asia — China & Japan

Cultivated since

Over 3,000 years in China

Fragrance

Soft, earthy and herbal

Symbolises

Longevity, joy & well-wishing

One of the oldest cultivated flowers, prized in China and Japan for three thousand years and honoured with its own festival. Its dense, textured heads bring depth and a long, dependable life to an arrangement.

Forsythia

Origin

East Asia, chiefly China

Introduced

Reached Europe in the 19th century

Fragrance

Faint and fresh, nearly scentless

Symbolises

Anticipation & early spring

Among the first shrubs to flower each spring, Forsythia opens its bare branches into long sprays of golden-yellow before a single leaf appears. Named for William Forsyth, the Scottish horticulturist and a founder of the Royal Horticultural Society, it lends an arrangement height, line and an architectural sense of movement, its arching stems drawing the eye upward.

Gladiolus

Origin

Southern Africa

In European gardens since

the 1700s–1800s

Fragrance

Lightly sweet to virtually scentless

Symbolises

Strength, integrity & remembrance

Named for the Latin gladius, or sword, after its tall, blade-like leaves. Each stem then stacks funnel-shaped blooms that open from the base upward, and that vertical line gives an Amicis arrangement its height and architecture, drawing the eye skyward where rounded flowers would settle flat.

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.

Tulip

Origin

Central Asia, long cultivated across the Ottoman world

Cultivated since

The 1500s in Europe

Fragrance

Faint and fresh, often nearly scentless

Symbolises

Perfect love, elegance & spring renewal

Native to the mountains and steppes of Central Asia and prized in the Ottoman court, the tulip reached Europe in the 1500s and later fed a Dutch trading frenzy in which the rarest bulbs could rival the price of a house. Its clean, sculptural cup and quiet colour make it a study in restraint - a flower that keeps growing and bending toward the light long after it is cut, giving any Amicis arrangement a living, unhurried grace.