My first surprise was that the Lady Orchids at Wye Down had almost finished flowering and so were at least a couple of weeks ahead of last year. At the bottom of the slope there were plenty of Twayblades, a few Man Orchids and some Common Spotted, Pyramidal and Fragrant Orchids just starting to flower. Since the Lady Orchids were ahead of schedule I wondered about the Late Spider Orchids and sure enough at the famous site with the cages there were three plants already in flower.
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| Common Spotted Orchid |
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| Common Spotted Orchid |
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| Lady Orchid |
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| Late Spider Orchid |
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| Late Spider Orchid |
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| Late Spider Orchid |
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| Late Spider Orchid |
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| Man Orchid |
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| Man Orchid |
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| Pyramidal Orchid |
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| Twayblade |
Next stop Yockletts Bank where again the Lady Orchids were past their best. However the Fly Orchids here were in great shape, some being about 30 cm in height. On the right hand side of the reserve there were more Fly Orchids and also an impressive number of White Helleborines in flower together with 1 Greater Butterfly Orchid.
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| Fly Orchid |
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| Fly Orchid |
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| Greater Butterfly Orchid |
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| Greater Butterfly Orchid |
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| Greater Butterfly Orchid |
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| White Helleborine |
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| White Helleborine |
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| White Helleborine |
Finally on to Park Gate Down to see the Monkey Orchids which again were ahead of last year in terms of flowering. The best examples this year were in the middle of the three fields. Also some small Fly Orchids and the first of the Fragrant Orchids.
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| Fly Orchid |
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| Fly Orchid |
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| Fragrant Orchid |
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| Fragrant Orchid |
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| Monkey Orchid |
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| Monkey Orchid |
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| Monkey Orchid |