Let It Grow
By Tammy Thornton
Have you ever wondered how beautiful flowers like orchids inherit the names of royalty and other famous people? Orchid breeders throughout the years have taken great pride in cultivating hybrids as namesakes for special people they would like to honor. Prominent orchid grower Arthur Chadwick has spent the greater part of his life breeding unique orchid hybrids and naming these orchids to honor first ladies of the past and present.
Recently, Chadwick visited the South Jersey area to offer an informative presentation and speak about his latest book, “First Ladies and Their Orchids”. The event was held at the Masonic Lodge in Linwood on Saturday, Sept. 7. The presentation was part of an end-of-summer open house held by the award-winning local orchid growers, Waldor Orchids, of Linwood.
Chadwick offered anecdotes, ancestry, and advice about orchids he had grown and hybridized. Attendees were able to get a sneak peek of pictures from the book, showing Chadwick hobnobbing with first ladies as he presented their stunning namesake orchids. Chadwick has a long history of growing orchids with an emphasis on cattleyas, often referred to as corsage orchids. In 1989, he founded Chadwick and Son Orchids Inc. with his father, who had been growing orchids since 1943. The father and son had also collaborated on an earlier book, “The Classic Cattleyas”, which attracted the attention of Martha Stewart. Both of the men appeared on her show and presented her with an orchid named for her.
The newest book of the Chadwicks dedicates a chapter to each of the first ladies and their orchids, starting with Edith Bolling Wilson and concluding with our current first lady, Jill Biden. These namesake orchids are described throughout the book with documentation of their lineage, the story behind the cultivation of the orchid, and their connection to the first ladies. Currently, 19 consecutive first ladies have namesake cattleyas. The Chadwicks have had a great part in acquiring, breeding, naming, and personally presenting the hybrids to the first ladies (or their children or grandchildren). Chadwick told humorous tales of his meetings with first ladies and encounters with the Secret Service. Who knew that even orchids could be subject to frisking?
After the presentation, attendees walked across the street to Waldor Orchids where Chadwick held a book signing amongst a roomful of his cattleya orchids available for purchase, including a pumpkin orchid just in time for fall and a Farrah Fawcett orchid with great hair and a perfect smile.
If you would like to try your own hand at growing orchids, seek guidance and instructions from a knowledgeable grower. Popular advice like adding an ice cube a week to water your orchid will make Chadwick shudder. He advises considering how an orchid would grow in the rainforest, which would not include freezing rain (or ice cubes). Be warned: if you decide to embark upon a hobby of orchid-growing, it (like other forms of gardening) can soon lead to an obsession.
We would love to hear from our readers. Do you have orchids growing on your windowsill, or have you constructed a greenhouse to contain your massive collection? Send your comments, questions, and tales to shorelocalgardener@gmail.com.
Tammy Thornton lives with her husband, children, and crazy pets while enjoying a life of gardening, cooking, and going to the beach.
