Orchids: A Practical Guide To The World's Most Fascinating Plants

Wilma Rittershausen & Brian Rittershausen

Editions

Review

The orchid has long held sway in the public imagination as the exemplar of exotic luxury and in the field, from the Sussex Downs to the Peruvian rainforest, an encounter has always been for me a particular excitement.  In association with the RHS, the authors have produced an extremely glamorous volume (with ravishing photographs by Linda Burgess) which will take its place on coffee tables from Gramercy Park to the Quai Voltaire.

Until it became apparent that there were many different types of orchid, they were all classified as Epidendrum, deriving from their epiphytic habit, and the story since their discovery over 200 years ago and the subsequent hybridization makes compelling reading.

However, the bulk of the book dwells on, and beautifully illustrates, the range of intriguing and colourful specimens available today, with information on growing them in the greenhouse at home.  The Ritterhausens' knowledge as growers in Devon is reflected in the admirable text which combines anecdote with sound practical advice.  If this collaboration with the RHS is typical, we can look forward to a new trend in garden literature. - review by Stewart Grimshaw