Company founder Art Chadwick Sr., and his son Arthur (Chadwick & Son) appeared on Martha Stewart’s TV show, ‘Martha’, on Friday, April 21, to present her with an orchidthat they named in her honor. The event coincided with the opening of the New York International Orchid Show and Martha Stewart’s review of the new Chadwick orchid book entitled ‘The Classic Cattleyas’.

The new ‘Martha’ orchid hybrid is a classic Cattleya with large purple flowers, distinctive splashes on the petals, and a sweet fragrance. Officially registered with the Royal Horticultural Society, the plant carries the botanical name Laeliocattleya Martha Stewart. See complete article.    

“Martha Stewart is the most well known gardening personality in the world and we are honored to personally present her namesake orchid” said company President Art Chadwick Jr.

Copyright Richmond Newspapers, Incorporated Sep 14, 2004

It was seven years in the making. But the result, Art Chadwick says, was worth the wait. Chadwick, president of Chadwick & Son Orchids Inc. in Powhatan County, last month presented Margaret Thatcher with a cattleya orchid hybrid that was named in her honor. Cattleya orchids grow for seven years inside a greenhouse before they bloom. Then they bloom annually. "There's not much we can do about the seven years," Chadwick said. "We just have to wait. Once it blooms you realize why you waited so long. It's spectacular." The large blooms are often used in corsages because of their size. So Chadwick & Sons made a corsage out of the orchid named for Thatcher and presented it to her. She pinned it to her blazer. "She said it was lovely," Chadwick said. The ceremony took place last month during Thatcher's visit to the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond.

Naming orchids in honor of famous women is nothing new for Chadwick & Son Orchids. Previous recipients include Laura Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Tipper Gore and the late Princess Diana. The orchid named for Thatcher was registered with the Royal Horticultural Society in England. Theflowers are light lavender with a darker lip. They have a sweet fragrance. The botanical name is Brassolaeliocattleya Margaret Thatcher (Lc Princess Margaret x Blc Summer Bay). "This keeps the cattleya on the front pages," Chadwick said. "It's an orchid that is not as popular as it once was." The cattleya was popular in the 1940s and 1950s. It is not as easy to grow as other varieties, said Chadwick, whose orchid column appears monthly in Saturday's Home & Garden section. He usually has thousands in production at a time because of the seven-year wait for blooms. "You don't know until they bloom whether they will be any good," he said. "So you have to have a lot in production."

In addition to naming orchids for women in politics, Chadwick & Son has also named them after friends, as well as Indian tribes. "It's an exciting thing," Chadwick said. "Who wouldn't want an orchid named after them? It's such an honor."

The ‘Laura Orchid,’ grown and registered with the Royal Horticultural Society by Chadwick & Son Orchids Inc, of Powhatan, was presented to Laura Bush at the United States Botanical Garden in Washington, D.C. The event took place on Tuesday May 9 as part of the “First Lady’s Luncheon” which is an annual gathering of the wives of the U.S. Senators. Assisting in the presentation was the garden’s Executive Director Holly Shimuzu.

The new orchid hybrid is a classic Cattleya with medium sized white flowers, a contrasting purple throat, and a sweet fragrance. Designed to bloom twice a year on a compact plant, the official botanical name is Brassolaeliocattleya Laura Bush.

‘First Ladies have a long tradition of being honored with Cattleya orchids which dates back to the 1940’s’ said Art Chadwick, President of Chadwick & Son Orchids. Previous recipients of Chadwick hybrids include former First Ladies Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barbara Bush as well as former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and, most recently, Martha Stewart. 

It’s a safe bet that Laura bush isn’t often kept waiting but even the first lady can’t rush mother nature. And so she, along with art Chadwick of powhatan’s Chadwick & son orchids, awaits the blooming of a cattleya orchid that Chadwick registered with the royal horticultural society in honor of the first lady, in order to complete a presentation ceremony postponed last summer due to scheduling conflicts.

Brassolaeliocattley laura bush features a white flower (sometimes over laid by a lavender starburst) with a dark purple lip and is only in bloom for a few weeks each summer. Chadwick’s growers are currently caring for about 20 of the prized hybrids. ‘I’m looking for several that look very good and very fresh’ says Chadwick, who hopes to let the first lady pick her favorite, which will be dubbed variety ‘first lady’.

This isn’t the first time Chadwick has presented a first lady with an orchid. He and his wife, Rebecca, presented then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton with her own namesake orchid. ‘She was the first first lady in history to be presented and photographed with her namesake orchid while in office’ says Chadwick, who notes that a tradition exists for naming orchids after first ladies such as nancy Reagan and bess Truman among those so honored. Laura bush should join them sometime in August, and may have by the time you’re reading this, says Chadwick. “It’s entirely up to the flowers.”

In the nearly century and a half that the world has been naming orchid hybrids, kings, queens, princesses, presidents and first ladies have been honored by having someone register a beautiful orchid to bear their name. In the United States, C. Bess Truman, C. Pat Nixon, Lc. Mamie Eisenhower and Lc. Nancy Reagan are examples of first ladies so recognized. On October 21, 1995, a magnificent semi-alba Catleya was presented to current first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. This orchid, Blc. Hillary Rodham Clinton 'First Lady', is a hybrid of C. Kittiwake 'Brilliance' AM/AOS adn Blc. Meditation 'Queen's Dowry' and is a cross originally mady by Carmela Orchids of Hawaii. The particular cultivar, 'First Lady', was raised and registered by Art and Rebecca Chadwick of Powhatan, Virginia, where they have a nursery named Chadwick and Son Orchids. The couple named it for Mrs. Clinton because of their admiration of her. The orchid in the form of three corsages was presented to the First Lady at the $500 per plate Kennedy-King dinner in Alexandria.

One would think it would be easy to name an orchid after someone, but the Chadwicks found that not necessarily the truth. First they had to obtain permission from Carmela Orchids, the breeder, to name the hybrid. Secondly, upon the recommendation of the Orchid Registrar in England, they had to obtain permission from Mrs. Clinton. How does one obtain permission from within the White House? A direct request to the White House and an appeal for help to their U.S. Senator failed to bring a response. Finally through the efforts of the Lt. Governer of Virginia, contact and permission were obtained. Now the concern was to find a time when the orchid was in bloom and when the Chadwicks could present the flower to Mrs. Clinton. A small opening in her busy schedule allowed the presentation to be made after she had spoken at the Kennedy-King dinner. Art and Rebecca have said that it was not an easy fete to achieve but experiencing the security, meeting the First Lady and seeing her pleasure made it all worth the effort.

Barbara Bush grew up at a time when Cattleya corsages were the standard for fashion. The 1940's, 1950's and 1960's saw cut orchids at their heyday and it is only fitting that Mrs. Bush be honored with her namesake flower. The lovely hybrid is a blend of white petals and a soft lavender and yellow throat. The parents are pedigree as well - Lc Josephine Robinson x Blc Apparition and all are registered with the RHS.

Flowers of Cattleya Tipper Gore (Pearl Harbor X General Patton) were presented to Tipper Gore on October 21, 1999. This grex, created by Chadwick and Son Orchids, Inc., of Powhatan, Virginia, and registered with the Royal Horticultural Society, bears impressive fragrant white flowers with a yellow throat. "We usually name orchid hybrids honoring first ladies and heads of state, but Al and Tipper Gore have been such a great inspiration to us through their environmental efforts that we just had to name an orchid after her," says Art Chadwick, president of Chadwick and Son Orchids, Inc.

The event took place at the vice president's residence at 34th Street and Massachusetts Avenue Northwest in downtown Washington, DC. The estate is part of the United States Naval Observatory and has been home to each vice president since 1974. The residence's greenhouse contains a variety of orchids, including six purple-flowered cattleya specimens that were in bloom when the cattleya flowers were presented to the vice-president's wife.

© The Baldwin Image 2003