Russian born painter Vladimir Tretchikoff was so enchanted by the exquisite beauty of the orchid flower lying on the stairs on the day he was freed from an Indonesian war camp that he was inspired to paint the Lost Orchid. It was possibly a corsage as it had a pin through it. At that time orchid plants were only owned by the wealthy and it was considered a great extravagance to be given an orchid flower which then was 10 times more costly than a rose.
Russian born painter Vladimir Tretchikoff was so enchanted by the exquisite beauty of the orchid flower lying on the stairs on the day he was freed from an Indonesian war camp that he was inspired to paint the Lost Orchid. It was possibly a corsage as it had a pin through it. At that time orchid plants were only owned by the wealthy and it was considered a great extravagance to be given an orchid flower which then was 10 times more costly than a rose.
Many of us aren’t aware that the orchid family Orchidaceae has 25,000 species and is the biggest plant family in the world with the daisy family coming a close second. Of these, 500 species are native to SA. There are so many forms of the orchid that some of us have unknowingly stepped on little sky blue orchids popping up in the grass or passed under those growing overhead attached to the barks or clefts of trees.