More Green-winged Orchids in East and West Sussex

This churchyard in West Sussex was beautifully tended to preserve the Green-winged Orchids, Orchis morio, which were splendid yesterday.

East Sussex also has the above magnificent churchyard, which is similarly sympathetically left for wild flowers to thrive.

The "green wings" are more easily seen in the pale forms of this orchid.

Fly Orchids starting to flower last weekend in Kent.

Fly Orchid, Ophrys insectifera, was starting to flower last Sunday in a wood in Kent.

Lady Orchids, Orchis purpurea, in Kent

Lady Orchids, Orchis purpurea, in Kent lived up to their elegant name, above flowering with cowslips in a tiny woodland glade yesterday.

Early Spider-orchids at Samphire Hoe

At little late this year and wonderful to see these tiny orchids yesterday on the spoil from the channel tunnel in Kent.

A walk around Sierra del Carche, Spain.

The track from the metalled road takes an hour or more to get to the entrance of this National Park.

On the way are many Dodder plants.  They have no leaves or chlorophyll and are parasitic on a host plant.

There were lots of Broomrapes; another parasite which feeds on the roots of the host plant and only appears above ground when it flowers.  See above and below photo's.

Butterflies were numerous.

A beautiful Fritillary.

A Painted Lady.  They have three broods in their migration from North Africa to the UK.

A Marbled White?

We did a circular walk through the park.  The flowers were terrific and I took dozens of photo's -- too many to show here.  The track is easy walking and we just touched a corner of this enormous mountainous nature reserve.  Walk there if you can.  It is about an hour drive from Alicante.

Bluebell wood in West Sussex today

On the High Weald Landscape trail west of Cuckfield.  This path used to be virtually impassable due to brambles and bracken.  It is a joy to walk now thanks to years of work with a scythe to remove bracken and brambles as they appear.

Cherry blossom and bluebells.

Green-winged Orchids in a Sussex churchyard

The Green-winged Orchids in this Sussex churchyard today were both numerous and beautiful.

This pale flower dramatically demonstrates the "green wings".

Early-purple Orchids flowering now in a Sussex wood.

These beautiful orchids are flowering almost three weeks later than in previous years.  It was worth the wait.  Thay were magnificent today and loads of pictures follow.

Above are some with bluebells.