‘First Ladies and Their Orchids’ Exhibit to Debut at Philadelphia Flower Show
Renown cattleya orchid grower Art Chadwick to present an installation celebrating America’s first ladies and the golden era of orchid corsages.
From his Powhatan, Virginia, orchid greenhouses, Arthur Chadwick is cautiously monitoring the weather.
As a blizzard warning went into effect Sunday in Philadelphia with a major winter storm forecast for much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, the renowned orchid grower is holding his breath that the conditions will improve in the days ahead while he is busy setting up a feature exhibit “First Ladies and Their Orchids” debuting at the 197th Philadelphia Flower Show at the end of the week.
The storm, which is expected to last through Monday, is forecast to bring up to 24 inches of snow to some areas and 12 inches of snow to Philadelphia. Chadwick is optimistic the worst of it will be long gone by the time he is ready to transport a truck full of delicate cattleya orchids over a five-hour drive to the Philadelphia Convention Center where the flower show is slated to open on Saturday, Feb. 28, and run through March 8.
“The weather is the main thing,” Chadwick, president of Chadwick & Son Orchids, tells East Wing Magazine in a phone interview. “We always bring the orchids on the very last day of set up because they are so perishable, easily broken.”
In the meantime, Chadwick is intensely focused on a one-of-a-kind exhibit that will showcase a combination of hybrid orchids in white, pink, purple and yellow hues. Some of the cattleyas will be cut and designed into extraordinary corsages that became the fashion from the early 20th century to the 1960s—a golden corsage era that intertwined cut flowers and women’s apparel for decades.
The exhibit “First Ladies and Their Orchids” is an adaptation from his book, First Ladies and Their Orchids, published in 2024. It also is a tribute to the iconic women and flowers aligned with the country celebrating its 250th anniversary of its founding this year.
The display will showcase freshly-cut cattleya corsages adorned on women’s attire from the time period demonstrating how they were once worn. Artifacts and authentic memorabilia will also be featured and include former First Lady “Lady Bird” Johnson’s gardening gloves on loan from the Austin, Texas-based Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; First Lady Edith Bolling Wilson’s ornate pocketbook and monogrammed handkerchief loaned from the Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Foundation and Museum; an orchid painting that is being researched by the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis, Indiana, for authenticity as one painted by former First Lady Caroline Harrison; and former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower’s diamond engagement ring on loan from granddaughter Mary Jean Eisenhower.
“Orchids were more than fashion accessories—they were symbols of grace, romance and prestige,” Mary Jean Eisenhower said in a press release. “My grandmother felt she would be underdressed if she wasn’t wearing an orchid corsage.”
Chadwick has partnered with Kansas-based floral designer Sara Larson, owner of Wild & Blooming Floral & Events, whose work is known for blending historical storytelling with refined contemporary aesthetics. The two have collaborated on multiple projects featuring rare and historically significant orchids from Chadwick’s private collection. Attendees will also have an opportunity to view large posters of first ladies from Edith Bolling Wilson to Pat Nixon all photographed with orchids.
The project, Larson says, has been “a rare opportunity to blend living history with floral design at the highest level.”
Uncertain at the time of this story’s publication, was whether some of Chadwick’s namesake first lady cattleyas collection would also be on display. Chadwick and his late father Art Chadwick, Sr., author of The Classic Cattleyas and a hobbyist who had been collecting and growing cattleya orchids since he was 13 until the younger Chadwick convinced his father to launch the business in 1989, are also credited with naming cattleya hybrids after the last six American first ladies (Barbara Bush to Dr. Jill Biden). The namesake flowers are officially registered with the United Kingdom-based Royal Horticultural Society, an organization that tracks all the orchid names ever used. Chadwick grew and named his initial first lady cattleya in 1993 for Hillary Rodham Clinton.
At first, orchid growers didn’t think to honor first ladies with namesake orchids. Records show, according to Chadwick in his book, that President Woodrow Wilson had three cattleya orchids named for him from 1916 to 1918. And his successor, Warren G. Harding was honored four times with namesake cattleya orchids from 1920-1921. It wouldn’t be until 1929, several months before the great stock market crash, that a new cattleya hybrid was introduced and honored a first lady—Lou Henry Hoover, the wife of President Herbert Hoover (1929 to 1933).
“This hybrid would make history as it started a tradition of First Lady namesakes that continues today,” Chadwick writes in the book.
The exhibit will be centrally located within the flower show’s 2026 theme “Rooted: Origins of American Gardening,” which explores how American history, culture and horticulture intersect. The Philadelphia Flower Show is open to the public and is the largest and longest running horticultural event in the world with more than 250,000 visitors annually.
For Chadwick, though, it’s an opportunity to simply “be blown away by the orchids.”
Calendar
Feb. 23, 2026
Tonight: ‘Celebrating America 250 with Our U.S. First Ladies’ Presented by First Ladies Man Andrew Och
The First Ladies Association for Research and Education presents the virtual program “Celebrating America 250 with Our U.S. First Ladies.” The free program starts at 7 p.m. ET and will feature Andrew Och, the First Ladies Man and a series producer for the C-SPAN/White House Historical Association television series “First Ladies: Influence and Image.” Och will assess the history of the United States from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War through the experiences and accomplishments of its first ladies. View here
Feb 23, 2026
White House History Live: An Unusual Path
The White House Historical Association presents its Facebook Live series, White House History Live, featuring author John Wrory Ficklin who will discuss his new book, An Unusual Path: Three Generations From Slavery to the White House. Ficklin, who retired in 2015 after 40 years of White House service, will share his family’s remarkable story and how the Ficklins became a multi-generational institution at the White House. Ficklin, who began working part-time for his father John Woodson Ficklin at the White House, ultimately went on to become the longest serving member of the National Security staff, faithfully serving seven U.S. presidents.
This virtual event will be live streamed on the White House Historical Association’s Facebook and YouTube pages starting at 5:30 pm ET on February 23. Read more
Feb. 25, 2026
First Ladies on the Page Book Club: Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker
The National First Ladies Library & Museum presents a free, virtual program about the remarkable story of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, a formerly enslaved woman whose extraordinary skill as a dressmaker earned her freedom and the friendship of First Lady Mary Lincoln. In Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini explores their deep bond during the Civil War, providing a sweeping portrait of resilience, loyalty, and life inside the White House. Read more
Feb. 27, 2026
Jackie & Monte – A Legacy of Style
Join television personality Monte Durham as he honors the timeless elegance of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The National First Ladies Library & Museum invites guests to “Jackie & Monte – A Legacy of Style.” This evening, hosted by beloved fashion director and television personality Monte Durham, honors the timeless elegance of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, a woman whose influence on fashion and culture still inspires the world today. This exclusive event will be held at the luxurious Zazu Salon, located at 445 5th Avenue South, Unit 205 in Naples, Florida, on February 27, from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Tickets are $125 per guest and can be reserved here.
Feb. 28-March 8
‘First Ladies and Their Orchids’ Exhibit at the Philadelphia Flower Show
Internationally recognized orchid authority Arthur Chadwick, owner of Chadwick & Son Orchids and author of First Ladies and Their Orchids will present a one-of-its-kind exhibit commemorating America’s first ladies who were known for showcasing cattleya orchids as part of their attire. The installation traces 10 consecutive first ladies from Edith Wilson through Pat Nixon. Read more about the show.
March 3, 2026
Learn about the Life, Times, and Tragedies of Former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln at the Brick Library
In honor of Women’s History Month, the Brick Branch of the Ocean County Library in New Jersey will host “Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life, Times, and Tragedies” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3.
Historian Greg Caggiano will present the program, covering the former First Lady’s early life, marriage to Abraham Lincoln, her effects on his presidency, as well as a focus on reevaluating popular misconceptions about her mental health following his assassination and other deaths throughout her life.
Greg Caggiano is an award-winning historian, lecturer, author, and consultant. To register, visit tinyurl.com/BrickLincoln. Read more
March 4-6, 2026
Women’s Leadership Summit
George Washington’s Mount Vernon presents the Women’s Leadership Summit from March 4-6, 2026, which will feature Doris Kearns Goodwin, Judy Woodruff, Anne Applebaum, and other distinguished voices as they explore women’s pioneering roles in preserving history, shaping American memory, and defining the nation’s legacy. Taking place on March 5 during the Summit will be the panel discussion “First Ladies as Legacy Architects: Shaping History from the White House” featuring Colleen Shogan, Senior Advisor at More Perfect, Co-chair of Women’s Suffrage Monument Foundation and 11th Archivist of the United States; and Stephanie Bohnak, Director of Education & Curatorial Services, National First Ladies Library & Museum. The discussion will be moderated by Ali Vitali, journalist, MSNBC’s Way Too Early. Read more
March 13, 2026
Legacy Lecture: Mary Lincoln’s Photograph Album
The National First Ladies Library & Museum presents a free virtual lecture from noon to 1 p.m. ET by Laura Keyes, librarian and scholar, who will present the history of this personal album, showing attendees which photographs Mary Lincoln preserved and which she chose to leave out, offering a unique glimpse into her life and legacy. Read more
March 14, 2026
Book Launch Event with author Shannon McKenna Schmidt
The Eleanor Roosevelt Center in honor of Women’s History Month presents an in-person, free book talk at 1:30 p.m. ET on March 14, 2026, with author Shannon McKenna Schmidt for her new book You Can’t Catch Us: Lady Bird Johnson’s Trailblazing 1964 Campaign Train and the Women Who Rode with Her. The event will include a presentation by Schmidt, followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing. This event is presented by the Eleanor Roosevelt Center and hosted by theFranklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Museum & Library. It will take place at The Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park in New York. A donation of $10 is appreciated. Read more