Caring for your Verdant Whisper

Keep this arrangement somewhere cool and out of direct sun, since the roses are heavy drinkers and the hydrangea is the first to wilt the moment the vase runs low. Top up the water daily rather than waiting for it to drop, and re-cut the rose and lisianthus stems on a sharp diagonal so they keep taking up water freely. If the hydrangea starts to flag, mist its head or briefly submerge the whole bloom in cool water — it drinks through its petals as much as its stem and revives quickly. Pull the pollen-bearing anthers from the lilies before they open to protect the surrounding petals and your surfaces, and lift the pampas grass out entirely if you would like to dry and keep it once the fresh flowers are spent.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Ammi — Trim stems on a sharp angle, strip any foliage below the waterline, and refresh the water often, as Ammi drinks heavily and its fine leaves cloud the water quickly.
  • Chrysanthemum — Chrysanthemum is sensitive to murky water — strip the lower leaves and refresh it often.
  • Hydrangea — Hydrangea takes up water through its petals — mist the heads and keep the vase topped up.
  • Lily — Gently pinch out the orange pollen-bearing anthers as blooms open to protect petals and linen from staining.
  • Lisianthus — Its stems are slender and easily bruised, so handle gently and recut at an angle before placing in clean, shallow water.
  • Pampas Grass — Keep the plumes dry and out of humidity, and give them a gentle shake on arrival to settle and fluff the fronds.
  • Rose — Roses drink heavily — re-cut the stems at an angle every couple of days.
  • Tansy — Strip any lower foliage that would sit below the waterline, as tansy leaves foul vase water quickly and shorten the display.

How long your flowers last

Expect this mix to look its best for roughly 5–7 days, with a graceful tapering rather than a sudden drop. The hydrangea and roses fade first — hydrangea holds only 4–7 days and roses 5–7 — so they will soften while the rest of the arrangement is still going strong. The lilies and lisianthus are the endurance of the bouquet, lasting 8–12 and 7–10 days respectively, with the ammi, chrysanthemum and tansy holding a steady 7–10 days alongside them. The pampas grass is effectively permanent and can be lifted out and kept dry long after the fresh stems are spent. To stretch the whole arrangement, the single most useful habit is a fresh diagonal cut and a full water change every two days, which is the routine Amicis recommends to keep the early-fading blooms drinking longer.

The story behind these flowers

A closer look at the blooms gathered into this arrangement.

Ammi

Origin

Nile Valley and the wider Mediterranean basin

Grown since

Known since antiquity, valued as a cut flower in modern floristry

Fragrance

All but scentless; a faint green note rises from the crushed foliage

Symbolises

Delicacy, elegance & airy lightness

A relative of the carrot, Ammi opens in wide lace-like umbels of tiny white flowers on slender stems. In an arrangement it works as a veil rather than a focal point, softening the edges around roses or peonies and lending Amicis bouquets an unstudied, garden-gathered ease.

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.

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.

Lily

Origin

Temperate Northern Hemisphere, richest in East Asia

Cultivated since

Over 3,000 years across Asia and the Mediterranean

Fragrance

Sweet and heady

Symbolises

Purity, devotion & renewal

Few flowers carry their architecture as openly as the lily, its petals curving back from a clear, sculptural throat. Painted on the walls of the Aegean Bronze Age more than three millennia ago, it has long stood for purity and devotion. In an Amicis arrangement a single stem sets the height and rhythm, its buds opening in sequence over days.

Lisianthus

Origin

Prairies of the southern United States and Mexico

Cultivated since

The 20th century, refined by Japanese breeders

Fragrance

Virtually scentless, clean and unobtrusive

Symbolises

Appreciation, charisma & lasting bonds

Native to the open prairies of the southern United States and Mexico, lisianthus grew wild until Japanese breeders coaxed it into the ruffled, rose-like bloom we know today. Its layered petals open in slow succession, giving an arrangement a gentle, unfurling movement long after the first stems have peaked.

Pampas Grass

Origin

Southern South America (the Pampas of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile)

Recorded

Reached European gardens in the 1800s

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Softness, height & quiet drama

Named for the South American plains it sweeps across, pampas grass earns its place through feathered, silver-blonde plumes that catch light like spun silk. As a structural accent it lends an Amicis arrangement height and movement without colour, holding its form long after fresh stems have faded.

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.

Tansy

Origin

Temperate Europe and Asia

Cultivated since

Antiquity, across Europe

Fragrance

Sharp and herbal, faintly camphor

Symbolises

Endurance, protection & remembrance

Tansy carries clusters of flat golden buttons on tall, upright stems above fern-like foliage, each bloom a tight disc with no surrounding petals. Grown in monastery and apothecary gardens for centuries, it brings a clean architectural rhythm to an arrangement - a row of small suns that hold their colour and structure as softer flowers open around them.