He was a successful gardener. But he wanted more
He has desired many things in his life, but nothing as much as she. She looks unassuming most of the year, downright ugly. It has no leaves or stem, and its roots stretch like spider legs over the trunks of swamp ash or alligator apples. A tawny braid, gnarled like the bark of the tree she’s clinging to.
Only when its white flowers open for a few days in summer, every year between June and August, when people are almost dying from the heat, does it transform into something very special. Its blossoms float through the air like a dancing star and give off a scent of sweet apples.
The ghost orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii, is considered the queen of orchids, their star. It was first discovered in Cuba in 1844 by the Belgian plant collector Jean Jules Linden; it also grows in the Bahamas or Florida. In the wild, the ghost orchid is strictly protected, unlike other orchids it is almost impossible to grow them in large numbers. That’s how picky she is about the conditions she needs to live.
John Laroche wanted her at all costs.