The Woodlands Orchids

Frederick Boyle

One of the most delightful writers of the late 1800s and early 1900s was a man named Frederick Boyle. He wrote from a very human perspective and the people in his stories were just as interesting as the orchids. Boyle traveled extensively to the remote jungles where orchids grew wild in Asia and the America’s and he glamorized the plants with tales of intrigue, deceit, love, mayhem and murder.

 The Woodlands was the name given by an Englishman, Robert Measures, to his estate in Streatham, England. Measures had suffered a nervous breakdown from handling his extensive business interests and his doctor prescribed a house in the country and a relaxing hobby like gardening to cure the affliction. The plants he grew had to be challenging and something “you can make a study of”. Orchids met all the requirements, and, in typical Measure’s fashion, he developed one of the finest orchid collections in the world. He was so proud of his collection that he could not resist telling everyone about it and commissioned Frederick Boyle to write this book.