Bee Orchids

It's Orchid time again, so Malcolm and I have recently spent some time searching for these delicate and beautiful little flowers. The most abundant are as always, the Common Spotted Orchids.

Growing and flowering close by, are Southern Marsh Orchids. Often tricky to separate from the Common Spotted. This is made even more difficult when the two species hybridise, producing a plant which is neither one thing, nor the other.

The most exciting member of the Orchid family to be found around these parts however, has to be the Bee Orchids.

Much less showy and with smaller flower spikes, these little charmers always seem to hide away among the grasses, making it quite a task to spot them initially.

But once you have got your 'eye in' you begin to see lots of them dotted around the dry parts of Shipley Woodside. They always reward the effort of getting down for a closer look!

No doubt there will be more pictures of orchids to come over the next few weeks.