Slad Valley Orchids

Over the past couple of summers I have been visiting a small field on a south west facing hill in the middle of Cider with Rosy country around Slad. It has never had pesticides, herbicides of fertilizer sprayed on it and so the grass looks yellow and unhealthy. But that belies the fact that it is the richest land you could imagine. More than a dozen orchids grow there and as many butterflies. A fantastic place to get lost in tiny details

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Amongst the orchids I have found are pictured here Pyramidal, Fly, Bee, Fragrant, Early Purple including the relatively common white form, Green Winged, Common Spotted Orchids and the Broad Leaved Helliborine. There are a couple of tiny orchids that I have not found here yet and some I haven’t found until aftet they have finished flowering such as the White Helliborine