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Company President
Art Chadwick Gets Married
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Art Chadwick married his high school classmate, Jane Sutton Tidwell on Saturday, August 27, 2022, at Winterthur Museum and Gardens in Wilmington, Delaware.
The “all orchid” wedding featured blue and purple vandas wired to a vintage trellis, an oversized bouquet of white cattleyas and phalaenopsis, table arrangements of deep purple phalaenopsis in Kew urns, a three-tier cake topped with frosted sugar cattleyas and a twin cattleya ice sculpture.
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The Venue
Winterthur was chosen as the location for its sentimental value to the families. As we walked the gardens, it became obvious that the best place to hold the ceremony would be under a vintage trellis that was partially covered with wisteria vines. There wouldn’t be much blooming in August so we would have to provide the flowers.
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Vanda orchids, with their interesting fan-like foliage and dramatic purple-blue blooms, immediately came to mind but how would we attach them to the trellis, especially given the time constraints? We couldn’t start setting up until 4pm because the garden is open to the public and we had to be finished by 5:30pm when the photographer arrived. The orchid plants, themselves, are delicate and the flowers can easily be knocked off.
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The 90 degree temperatures and high humidity left the set up crew (aka wedding party and company employees) soaking wet as they stood on ladders and zip tied the plants in place. The bride, who is an architect, had previously given everyone a detailed sketch of what the orchid trellis should look like but she had been sequestered in her wedding dress for pictures. After 30 minutes, I, too, was pulled away and told to get ready. The remaining team pulled it together. | |
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Orchid Ice Sculpture
We commissioned Ice Concepts, Inc of Hatfield, PA to design an orchid ice sculpture to keep the oyster bar cold. They had previously made a calla lily flower but never an orchid so we sent them close up pictures of blooming cattleya plants showing the flowers and foliage. On their website, there is a slow motion video of an artist in a walk-in freezer taking a chain saw to a huge block of ice and we were inspired.
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They expressed concern that the orchid petals would be too thin and delicate to hold up during the carving process and transportation to the venue. I wondered how long any ice could possibly last in the heat.
Imagine our surprise when we saw TWO perfect orchid ice sculptures – one on either side of the oyster bar – along with overflowing bowls of shrimp, crab legs and scallops.
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We commissioned The Master’s Baker in West Chester, PA to design a three tier cake to match our theme of orchids. The trick was incorporating actual flowers from one of Art Chadwick Sr.’s cattleya hybrids –Lc Powhatan ‘Perfection’ - that was blooming just
for the occasion.
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Orchid Table Arrangements
Twenty two identical orchid arrangements were constructed for the reception. Each had three, double spiked magenta colored phalaenopsis along with accent plants, green moss, ribbon, and lights – all nestled in Kew antique white, handled low bowls. Additional containers held showy large cattleya plants from Art Sr.’s collection.
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Wedding Party
The bridesmaids were Olivia Chadwick of Raleigh, North Carolina, daughter of the groom; Madeleine Sutton of New Orleans, Louisiana, niece of the bride.
The groomsmen were Arthur Edward Chadwick of Washington, D.C., son of the groom; Christopher Tidwell of Atlanta, Georgia, son of the bride.
Live music was provided by Back2Life.
Photo Credit by: Greg Hadley
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A Gracious Monarch...Loved by the Masses!
by: Sara Nunn
On September 8, 2022, Great Britain and many throughout the world said "farewell" to the longest reigning monarch in British history, and
in the modern history of the world.
In 1952, at age 25, Princess Elizabeth ascended to the British throne after her father, King George VI, died at a young age. Britain (and much of the world) was recovering from a chaotic post-WWII period, and Queen Elizabeth II brought what was most needed: stability. Although her authority was primarily ceremonial, she ruled with grace and dignity.
Queen Elizabeth was known for her quick whit and spirited sense of humor. She stayed active throughout her life of 96 years; she most enjoyed the outdoors and walking the countryside of Balmoral with her corgi's, her favorite dogs. The Queen's love of chocolate was legendary(something we have in common!) and her "dessert of choice" was a Chocolate Biscuit Cake with Earl Grey Tea.
Chadwick Orchids created and named an orchid after Queen Elizabeth in 2006. During the 400th Anniversary of the Colonization of Jamestown in 2007, Virginians had the opportunity to greet the Queen while she was touring the US. You can read the fascinating article by Art Chadwick about the beautiful cattleya that is truly FIT FOR A QUEEN!
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Queen Elizabeth II and Her Namesake Orchid |
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In May of 2007, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Virginia to mark the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. This trip included a stop in Richmond where she toured the Governor’s Mansion. There was a special gift awaiting her inside. | | |
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My father, Art Sr., had bred a cattleya hybrid just for this occasion and it was displayed in the lobby.
We had registered the hybrid with the Royal Horticultural Society the year before and it was approved but with a caveat. The name had to be spelled out so as to not infringe on official royal nomenclature:
Blc Queen Elizabeth The Second
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Art Sr. was delighted to be the cattleya breeder to honor the Queen as both his parents were English and had immigrated to the United States as young adults.
The hybrid, itself, is lovely and combines two well-known semi-albas –
Blc Meditation and Lc Ecstacy. The seedlings all bloomed semi-alba but there was one variety that stood out above the rest. These flowers have distinctive pink edging around the lip and we call it, ‘Jamestown’.
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Company Matriarch Anne Chadwick Passes Away at 94 | |
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Anne Clark Chadwick of Hockessin, Delaware and Midlothian, Virginia passed away on September 9, 2022 at the age of 94.
She was a tireless supporter of our upstart orchid business and assisted with the building of the early redwood greenhouses. She also made countless orchid arrangements and worked the sales booth at many Maymont Flower & Garden Shows.
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As an accomplished water color artist, she designed the official logo for our company which adorns the signs, stationary and delivery vans. She also hand painted the first business cards.
Her namesake cattleya variety, C Bow Bells ‘Anne Chadwick’ won “Best in Show” at the 1960 Central Florida Orchid Show and the Orlando Sentinel ran a picture of her on the front page. This hybrid is still considered one of the best whites today.
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When not helping the business, she and my father were competitive ballroom
dancers well into their eighties.
She is survived by her son, Arthur Everett Chadwick (Jane) of Powhatan, Virginia; granddaughter, Olivia Chadwick of Raleigh, North Carolina; and grandson, Arthur Edward Chadwick of Washington, D.C.
She is predeceased by her husband, Arthur Andrew Chadwick of Hockessin, Delaware; her daughter, Anne Clark Chadwick of Hockessin, Delaware; and her sister, Mary Alice Clark of Bradenton, Florida.
The family would like to thank the staff at Spring Arbor of Salisbury.
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Chadwick’s Belmont location now has a Monarch Waystation. | |
Each fall, millions of monarch butterflies migrate from the US and Canada to mountains in Central Mexico where they wait out the winter until conditions favor a return flight in the spring. The monarch migration is threatened by habitat loss at overwintering grounds in Mexico and throughout breeding areas in the US and Canada. | |
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To offset these losses Monarch Waystations are created to provide habitats along their journey that provide resources necessary to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. They need host plants (milkweed) for the larvae and energy sources for the adults. No effort is too small to have a positive impact.
The Chadwick Waystation is small in downtown Richmond but monarchs stopped by and refueled on nectar this fall enroute to their wintering grounds.
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Chadwick & Son Orchids | 804-598-7560 |www.ChadwickOrchids.com |
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