The name Cymbidium comes from “cymba,” the Latin word for boat, which refers to the shape of the flower’s lip. These are modern hybrids of several species from the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. During the summer, Museum horticulturists move them outside to grow in warm days and cooler nights, mimicking their natural habitat.

Isabella and her gardeners were admired for their orchids. In 1907, the society pages of the Boston Sunday Post observed, “Every single day new orchids come in to be placed about the inner court, the corridors and various rooms for above all does Mrs. ‘Jack’ love orchids.”