Looking for Orchids at Park gate, Wye and Bonsai Bank during June.  | - Click on the image above to view gallery
|
|
 White Helleborine During the month of June I like to visit the places I know I will find the varieties of orchids I like to see. I also like to visit the sites each year to see how they are looking and if the management of the sites is encouraging more of the plants to grow. This journal entry covers my visits to three of these locations. Of course when I visit the places it’s not just the orchids I see; I always enjoy visiting the places I do and am always pleased to see anything of interest along the way.
The first place, which I have returned to on many occasions this year, is Bonsai Bank within Denge Wood and my visit at beginning of June was to see how the Greater Butterfly Orchids were this year. This is the same site that I had visited several times already this year to see the impressive Lady Orchids and of course the Duke of Burgundy butterflies. I have to say I think that the number of Greater Butterfly Orchids this year was far fewer than last but I think that is so often the case: some years are far better than others. It was very nice to find quite a few White Helleborines growing there though.
An added treat was finding some Duke of Burgundy butterflies still on the wing in early June. They really have had a good year in the area and it’s really encouraging to know all the hard work carried out is working in their favour and encouraging this really very rare butterfly to breed successfully.  Park Gate Fragrant Orchids The next place I always enjoy visiting is Park Gate Down, especially at the time of year when the Fragrant Orchids are at their best. It’s not unusual to see large numbers of these growing together and Park Gate Down is no exception. They come in all colours from white to magenta and smell as beautiful as their name implies. Mid June is the time of year when the Musk Orchids are in flower too. These are a tiny orchid not much bigger than 2 to 3 inches in height and being green in colour can take quite a bit of finding. But if you know where to look and get you eye in they can soon be spotted. This is one orchid I will definitely take the trouble to smell too. They may only be small but on a warm sunny day they give off an amazing honey-like perfume that can knock you out.
It is sad that this year I have been unable to find the Late Spider Orchid plant that grows there and talking to other people they have been unable to locate it too. I hope it’s just having a year when it’s not flowering; often orchids have cycles of flowering some years and not others. I know I’ll be back to look for it next year: the Late Spider Orchid is a really rare plant in this country and one you will only see in Kent. There is nearly always a Yellowhammer at the reserve singing its “Little bit of bread and no cheese” song and sure enough I saw one singing its heart out.
I hadn’t given up trying to see Late Spider Orchids, however, and I know of a location in Wye where they grow so made a trip there to see them growing again this year. The area is in a steep-sided valley and the Late Spider Orchids grow under protective cages to help protect then from any animals that might like to eat them. I noted last year that the plants themselves didn’t seem to be very robust and I found the same this year too. There seemed to be very few in flower here too.
 Fragrant Orchid  Late Spider Orchid  Musk Orchid I was busy taking a pictures of the beautiful flower and thought I’d found the best one to take a picture of, when a chap who was also looking at them told us of a specimen just a little further along the valley with seven flower heads on it. Of course I had to go find it and indeed there was a beautiful specimen of the plant, quite the best I’d ever seen. In this location, however, it was on a slope and the wind just would not stop, which makes it very difficult to get sharp pictures. Nigel came to the rescue by holding the diffuser not to shade the plant from the strong sunlight (the usual purpose) but to shelter the flower spike from the strong wind.
I always find it a pleasure seeing the beautiful flowers and know that living here in Kent we are lucky to have so many species growing nearby for us to enjoy. I won’t be finding many more species this year but you can be sure I’ll be back to look at them in years to come and will always try to get better pictures than I have done in the past.
 |
