Orchids, the epitome of floral beauty, have long inspired poetry, adventure, art and scientific discovery. In Orchid Muse, historian and home orchid grower Erica Hannickel brings together fascinating tales of the orchid-smitten throughout history, along with tips on growing the exotic blooms at the centre of each account. Consider, for instance, Empress Eugenie and Queen Victoria, the two most powerful women in nineteenth-century Europe, who shared a passion for Coelogyne cristata. John Roebling, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, and Raymond Burr, the actor famed for playing Perry Mason, cultivated thousands of orchids, introducing captivating new and unusual species. Transporting the reader from hazardous Amazonian journeys to a seedy dime museum in Gilded Age New York's Tenderloin, from the glories of the palace gardens of Chinese Empress Cixi to the island of Bourbon, where the vanilla orchid thrives, Orchid Muse spans the world, exploring our enduring fascination with these exquisite flowers.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"[Orchid Muse] combines cultural advice with historical information... The easy style makes it a pleasure to read with the added benefit of gaining new knowledge."" -- Clare Hermans - RHS Orchid Review "An entertaining romp through the history of human adventures with orchids." -- Dominique Browning - The Wall Street Journal "If flowers are how plants have sex, orchids are the sexiest "harlot-nymphs" of them all, as Erica Hannickel reveals in this delightful and exquisitely explicit ode to orchidelirium." -- Adam Leith Gollner, author of "The Fruit Hunters" "A fascinating survey of one of the world's most intriguing (and provocative!) blooms, complete with lush illustrations. This book is an enchanting read for any gardener, house plant enthusiast, or history lover." -- Jessica Roux, author of "Floriography" "A fun fascinating romp through the history of the world's favorite flower." -- Bruce Rogers, author of "The Orchid Whisperer" "[A] beautifully produced book... Orchid Muse is a learned and interestingly hybrid text: part essay collection and part handbook... the tightly written and well-digested histories expand its utility beyond the how-to-guide." -- Cal Flyn - Prospect
Sprache
Verlagsort
Illustrationen
133 illustrations; 89 color illustrations
Maße
Höhe: 244 mm
Breite: 167 mm
Dicke: 32 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-393-86728-2 (9780393867282)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Erica Hannickel, a master gardener, is professor of environmental history at Northland College. The author of Orchid Muse: A History of Obsession in Fifteen Flowers and Empire of Vines: Wine Culture in America, she writes for Orchids magazine and blogs at www.orchidmuse.com. She lives in Wisconsin.
