Christopher Croom is an orchid expert, specializing in species and rare orchids. He speaks regularly to West Coast orchid societies, and is currently focusing on the subjects of how orchids produce their scents, how our noses detect scents, and the relationships between orchids, their scents, and their pollinators. Christopher won the 2004 American Orchid Society Dillon/Peterson Essay Prize with his article on scents: "Fresh Peaches to New Car Interior: Compact Fragrant Species Orchids Run the Gamut of Odors," featured in the May 2005 Orchids - the magazine of the American Orchid Society.

Christopher is currently a member of the board of directors of the San Diego County Orchid Society and is editor of its monthly newsletter, while working part-time as an orchid consultant and nurseryman, and full-time as a junior high school physical sciences teacher. Harry of Andy's Orchids in Encinitas, California, nicknamed Christopher "Dr. Fragrance." At his home in San Diego, California, Dr. Fragrance currently has 250 species orchids, all of which are grown outdoors or in a light garden.