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 Eugénie 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.
