*Special Offer* Agnes and Her Amazing Orchid & Framed Print of Vanda Miss Joaquim, by Waiwai Hove
Shortlisted for the 2019 Singapore Book Awards: Best Children's Picture Book
Suggested for ages 3 and above
Synopsis
In the mid-1800s in Singapore, a girl named Agnes Joaquim had a great passion for plants. She studied hard and learnt how to grow even cool-weather European vegetables in hot and humid Singapore. Over the years, she became so clever at growing all kinds of plants, that she won many, many prizes. One day, after several attempts and failures, she succeeded in creating a new orchid. The flower was shown to a scientist and orchid expert named Henry Ridley, who officially named the orchid the Vanda Miss Joaquim. This is the story of how one woman’s imagination, skill and relentless spirit created a new flower that became world famous... and Singapore's National Flower in 1981.
Description: Vanda Miss Joaquim, hybridised by Agnes Joaquim was first recognised as a hybrid in April 1893, by Henry Ridley, scientific director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Ridley sent a description to The Gardeners' Chronicle in Britain, writing: 'A few years ago Miss Joaquim, a lady residing in Singapore, well known for her success as a horticulturist, succeeded in crossing Vanda hookeriana Rchb. f., and V. teres, two plants cultivated in almost every garden in Singapore.’
Vanda Miss Joaquim was chosen as Singapore’s National Flower — for its resilience and year-round blooming quality — to represent the country’s uniqueness and hybrid culture. A cross between the Burmese Vanda teres (the pod parent), and the Malayan Vanda hookeriana (the pollen parent), the scientific name as of 2019 is Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim, as both parent species are now placed in the genus Papilionanthe.
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Specification
Book:
ISBN: 979814757423
Format: Paperback
Size: 210mm x 260mm
Pages: 32pp
Published: April 2018 by Epigram books
Print and Frame:
Frame size: Approx. 10cmx15cm
Paper: 100% Cotton based, 320g, Acid-free, No optical brighteners.
About the Illustrator
Muhammad Noh Arjuna (also known as Muhd Noh) is an illustrator with a Diploma in Animation from Nanyang Polytechnic. Agnes and Her Amazing Orchid is his second children’s picture book. He currently works in an animation and post production studio. Muhd Noh is keenly interested in art and animation to visualise his imagination and curiosity. He enjoys watching cartoons and collecting picture books. He loves animals, in particular, cats.
About the Botanical Illustrator
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Waiwai Hove developed a love for nature from a young age. Growing up surrounded by rich tropical flora and nurtured by her mother, a keen gardener, Waiwai has always held a special place for plants in her childhood memories. She holds a diploma in botanical illustration from the Society of Botanical Artists (UK), graduating in 2013 with a distinction and the highest marks in the history of the course.
She has since worked for the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where highlights include illustrations for ‘30 Heritage Trees’ and more recently ‘15 Gingers’. Four of Waiwai’s ginger paintings were subsequently used for a series of stamps issued by Singapore Post in 2018. Since 2019, Waiwai has begun working on the cover illustrations of 14 volumes of The Flora of Singapore, to be published over the next few years. Her works are in numerous private collections and can also be found in publications by the National Parks Board and in the Shirley Sherwood Collection in Kew Gardens, UK.
About the Authors
Linda Locke is a great-grandniece of Agnes Joaquim. Her determination to secure the legacy of Agnes and her creation — the Vanda Miss Joaquim – for future generations of Singaporeans led her to write Agnes and Her Amazing Orchid , her first children’s book. Linda was previously a chief executive and creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, and chairman and regional creative director of Leo Burnett Advertising, and has more than 300 creative awards to her name. She later started her consultancy, Godmother Pte Ltd, and has held several key positions at Club21, a luxury fashion distributor. She now serves as a board director at Culina Pte Ltd.
James Wolf has long had a passionate interest in Singapore’s history. He has known his co-author for many years and was delighted to collaborate with her on this important book about one of the Singapore’s greatest icons.