Product Description

"A fabulous work. Highly recommended." -Library Journal

Orchids were brought to Europe from the tropics and subtropics beginning in the 17th century, and by 1839, English plant nurseries were selling 1,600 different kinds of the flower. Long prized for their exotic beauty and astonishing variety, orchids are the royal family of the plant kingdom. The story of this flower, from the hunt for new varieties in the wild in the 1800s to the development of the more than 100,000 hybrids that exist today, is related in fascinating detail in Orchids.

This beautiful book features text by one of the world's foremost orchid authorities alongside spectacular watercolor portraits of prize-winning orchids from the Royal Horticultural Society in London, which spearheaded orchid cultivation in Western Europe beginning in the 19th century. This exquisite collection of paintings commissioned by the RHS every year since 1897 represents the ultimate orchid pictorial history. Now in a reduced format, Orchids is an indispensable sourcebook for those captivated by the beauty and infinite variety of this glamorous flower.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1916174 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-08
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .1 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

David L. Grove, Orchids-The Magazine of the America Orchid Society
"I know of no other introductory presentation on orchids by anyone of comparable authority."

John E. Bryan, Gardening Newsletter
"Simply put, if you love Orchids you should have this book."

From the Publisher
Orchids are one of the largest plant families as well as the most prized. This beautifully illustrated volume by the Gainesbury Orchid Fellow at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, serves as an excellent introduction to the most important genera, species, and hybrids.

The author briefly traces the history of orchids from their first introductions through modern hybridizing, and presents culturation and propagation information for a wide variety of orchids. Almost half the book is devoted to an A-Z listing of recommended species and hybrids for various conditions.

This is the third of the Kew Gardening Guides to be published in the United States by Timber Press. The previous volumes, Pool and Waterside Gardening and Pelargoniums, have been warmly received for their superb illustrations and concise authoritative texts.