Beyond Tulips

February 21, 2012

By Anastasia Mills Healy

If you have to wonder how anyone might be able to write 388 pages about tulips or why anyone would want to read said tome, then perhaps a trip with a garden focus is not for you.

The distinguished British garden authority Anna Pavord in fact did write a fascinating history of tulips, a bestseller no less, complete with tales of trekking in desolate areas searching for rare species; Turkish sultans who required guests to dress in colors that matched their tulips; and a single bulb selling for the same price as the most expensive house in Amsterdam in the 1630s.

The author of numerous other books on gardening and the gardening correspondent for The Independent, Pavord will be the study leader on an upcoming cruise that focuses on the lush tropical gardens of the Caribbean. Obviously passionate about her subject, Pavord is a riveting lecturer. Even the most unapologetic black thumb will be drawn into her observations about rare orchids and bromeliads, Ixora, Heliconia, and Balisier.  You will never look at a Bird of Paradise the same way again.