Caring for your Wild-Bloom

Keep the water level generous and topped up, as the hydrangea drinks largely through its head as well as its stem and will wilt quickly if it runs dry, so a light mist over its petals on warm days helps it recover. Give the delphinium, lilac and gerbera a clean recut every couple of days, since their softer stems cloud the water fastest and the gerbera in particular prefers to stand straight in a shallow, very clean vessel. The woody stems of the protea, banksia and leucadendron want a sharp diagonal cut to open their fibres so they can drink properly, and they tolerate a slightly drier, brighter spot than the soft blooms. Keep the whole arrangement out of direct sun and away from ripening fruit, cooled overnight where you can, and the anthurium and woody stems will carry the display well after the delicate flowers have passed.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Anthurium — Anthurium prefers warmth — keep it away from the cold and wipe the leaf gently.
  • Banksia — Re-cut the woody stem at an angle and keep it in fresh, shallow water; Banksia drinks slowly and dislikes being submerged too deep.
  • Chrysanthemum — Chrysanthemum is sensitive to murky water — strip the lower leaves and refresh it often.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Leucadendron — Strip any lower leaves below the waterline and keep stems in clean, shallow water, as wet foliage on this woody-stemmed accent fouls quickly.
  • Lilac — Lilac drinks heavily and wilts fast, so trim the woody stems on a sharp angle, strip lower leaves, and refresh the water daily.
  • Protea — Strip any foliage below the waterline and refresh the water every two to three days, as protea leaves foul water quickly and shorten the bloom's life.

How long your flowers last

Expect this arrangement to hold for roughly 5–10 days as a whole, with its lifespan set by the softer stems rather than the woody ones. The delphinium and lilac are the first to soften, usually fading at the 4–7 day mark, with the hydrangea and gerbera close behind. Holding longest are the structural blooms at the heart of its design: the anthurium, banksia and leucadendron all carry on for two to three weeks, while the protea stays composed for 10–14 days, so the bouquet shifts in character as the delicate flowers retire and the architectural ones take over. To get the most from it, the single most useful habit is a fresh diagonal cut and clean water every two days, which Amicis recommends for keeping the thirstier stems drinking freely.

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.

Banksia

Origin

Australia

Described

By science in 1782, named for Joseph Banks

Fragrance

Faintly honeyed, almost scentless

Symbolises

Resilience, structure & wild beauty

Named for Joseph Banks, who collected its first specimens at Botany Bay during Cook's Endeavour voyage in 1770, Banksia carries dense cylindrical flower spikes on woody stems. In an Amicis arrangement it works as sculpture — an architectural anchor whose texture and weight hold a composition together long after softer blooms have faded.

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.

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.

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.

Leucadendron

Origin

South Africa's Cape fynbos

Described

By science in the early 1800s

Fragrance

Fresh and green

Symbolises

Structure, resilience & texture

A conebush from South Africa's fynbos, Leucadendron draws its colour from bracts and modified leaves rather than true petals – sculptural cones of bronze, gold and crimson on woody stems. In an Amicis arrangement it works as architecture, lending height, line and a season-spanning backbone that holds the softer flowers in place.

Lilac

Origin

The rocky hills of the southern Balkans

Cultivated since

Reached Europe in the 16th century

Fragrance

Sweet and heady

Symbolises

First love & renewal

Native to the Balkan hillsides and carried into European gardens through the Ottoman court at Constantinople in the late 16th century, lilac became the herald of late spring. Its dense panicles bring soft volume and that unmistakable perfume to an arrangement, lending an Amicis bouquet a romantic, garden-gathered ease that few flowers match.

Protea

Origin

South Africa's Cape Floristic region

Described

By Linnaeus, mid-1700s

Fragrance

Faint and honeyed

Symbolises

Resilience, diversity & courage

Named for Proteus, the shape-shifting sea god, the protea answers to a genus so varied it seems to change form at will. Its architectural bracts and sculptural silhouette bring weight and structure to an arrangement, holding the eye as a single, deliberate focal point.