Calla Lily
Green Goddess
“The most architectural flower you can buy. 'Green Goddess' is a splurge that makes you feel like a person who has her life together.”
— ROSIE
Rosie's Take
There's something about a calla lily that makes everything around it look more intentional. Place a single stem of 'Green Goddess' in a tall, narrow vase on an empty table and the room immediately looks like someone designed it. That sculptural, rolled funnel of a flower — technically a spathe, not a petal — has a presence that very few other flowers can match.
'Green Goddess' is my favourite of the calla lilies because the colour is extraordinary. White, flushed and streaked with green, like a marble countertop or a piece of jade held up to the light. It's sophisticated without being cold, which is the line most white flowers struggle to walk.
They last magnificently in a vase. Two weeks is normal, sometimes more, and they barely change — just a slow, graceful fade from that green-flushed white to something warmer and more ivory. One stem does genuine work. Two or three and you've got something that looks like it belongs in an art gallery. I love that about them — the economy of it. No fussing, no arranging, no filler foliage needed.
They're a splurge from a florist, there's no pretending otherwise. But in terms of impact per stem, very little else comes close. I buy them for myself when I want to feel like a person who has her life together. It works every time.
Where to Buy
If you want to try calla lily for yourself, here's where I'd point you:
“The Blossomist carry beautiful calla lilies when they're in season — I order the Green Goddess stems individually and they arrive looking like sculpture.”
Order This Flower →“Appleyard's luxury arrangements sometimes include calla lilies, and they elevate everything else in the vase. Worth it for a special occasion.”
Order This Flower →✿ From the folklore cabinet
Calla lilies aren't actually lilies at all — they're aroids, more closely related to the humble lords-and-ladies that grow in British hedgerows. The name 'calla' comes from the Greek for beautiful, though Swedish botanist Linnaeus apparently applied it by mistake. They're native to southern Africa, where they grow in marshy ground. In the language of flowers they represent magnificence and beauty, which for once feels like exactly the right assignment.
