Orchid Care - Schmidt, Barb

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Résumé :
Orchid Care: For the Beginner demystifies orchid care for a wide audience in this slim, instructive volume. The book can function as a reference guide, but it's best read cover to cover, as the information is well chosen to keep from frightening off beginning enthusiasts. This quote came from a July 18, 2016 review in Publishers Weekly. The philosophy behind this book is that if you understand how orchids grow in their native environments, you can learn to mimic these conditions in your home. Most orchids are actually very easy to grow once you recognize their needs. The book contains 14 chapters which are essentially broken down into four main topics: the history of orchids, care for orchids, growth patterns of orchids, and miscellaneous topics such as picking your first orchid, pest control, and repotting. There are also color photos in the book and two tables which can serve as reference guides: Orchid Characteristics and Troubleshooting Guide. The author is an instructor for horticultural societies, botanical gardens and universities, such as the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, Cornell University, the New York Botanical Garden, the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. She has a secondary science teaching degree and has been raising and showing orchids for over 15 years. Her orchids have won a variety of awards, including first place ribbons at the Philadelphia Flower Show. This combination makes her uniquely qualified to author this book.

Biographie:
Barb Schmidt has a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry. She worked as an Environmental Scientist for Pennsylvania Power & Light Company for 10 years; after which she ran her own environmental consulting firm that specialized in water quality permits, testing and data analysis for an additional 25 years. In 2004, Barb went back to school, received a teaching certificate in secondary science, and also began teaching at a local middle school. For the last 15 years, Barb has been raising orchids. She is the Vice-Chair of the American Orchid Society's (AOS) Education Committee and a member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). Her orchids have won a variety of awards, including first place ribbons at the Philadelphia International Flower Show, most recently in 2019. Writing has always been a hobby of Barb's; and she used her knowledge of orchids to publish her first book, Orchid Care: For the Beginner, in 2016. She is currently working on her second book, Orchid Care: For the Experienced Grower. Her book is currently on sale online and at several botanic gardens. In 2019, she became a regular contributor to Orchids magazine, publishing her first article, Orchid Shows Are for Everyone in the February 2019 edition (Vol. 88 No.2). Barb also maintains a website, www.basorchidcare.com, which provides orchid care information and hosts an orchid blog. She has been doing speaking tours and teaching orchid classes throughout the country. She is a regular instructor at the U.S. Botanic Gardens, Smithsonian Institution Associates Program, New York Botanical Gardens, and Cornell Botanic Gardens.