We went on an Orchid hunt in May!

Mike and I had a rare day free on a weekend so I persuaded him to drive us on an Orchid spotting trip. I had a keen eye on the date and the weather and was well aware it was peak season! There were two spots in our sights: Samphire Hoe on the coast, and Denge Wood further inland.

Early Spider Orchids – Ophrys sphegodes – at Samphire Hoe

The Early Spider Orchids Ophrys sphegodes can be found by the hundred on this Kent nature reserve formed out of the chalky spoil heap from the Channel Tunnel. I hadn’t seen these little plants before and was quite surprised quite how much they did resemble fat spiders. I was also pleasantly surprised how many there were. Tip: take the path nearest the cliff from the rear of the overflow car park to find the orchids, they like the gravel. I went the opposite way round and started to become anxious when I wasn’t seeing any in the grassy downs!

More Orchids at Denge Wood

I got the idea to visit this wood from the Wildflower Society who went there last year. I missed the trip unfortunately but was excited to read about it in their journal. Denge Wood is just a few miles southwest of Canterbury, but the roads we needed to take to get there were surprisingly narrow and sometimes with grass up the middle!

Once we got there, I knew to look for a place called Bonsai Bank, an area where the plantation hadn’t grown as well as the surrounding area. It isn’t well recorded on the maps and I did as much homework as I could beforehand, but in the end had to rely on word-of-mouth. We bumped into a lovely couple who told us where to look thank goodness!

Lady Orchid – Orchis purpurea

These big blousy orchids in shades of pink and white were easy to spot luckily! Once we found these, we were well away. Having seen Burnt Orchids Neotinea ustulata in Seaford, I thought these were similar in colour, but bigger and more vibrant.

If you scroll to the top of the page, you’ll see a close up of this flower. In my opinion it looks like the lady has her hair in bunches, is wearing eyeliner, has pink embroidery on her white dress, and is waving!

Fly Orchid – Ophrys insectifera

From my research about the site, I realised that this orchid was tricky to find but would be near the Lady Orchids. I had shown Mike pics so he could could help, and luckily we found some quickly! They were every bit as delicate as I had expected.

We also spotted Twayblade Orchids Neottia ovata which are abundant on Seaford Head, Early Purple Orchids Orchis mascula just going over, and Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii just coming into bud.

I think if I had had my wits about me I might also have found a Man Orchid. It may have been hiding in amongst the Twayblades which I didn’t look at closely as we have them at home. I was also looking out for White Helleborine which can be found in the woodland nearby, but no luck there either.

Sorry it’s back to front…

Yes I know that both this post and the previous one about our trip to France were written in July about things that happened in May and June! They were also published back to front! This is because I write up trips and visits when I have enough time, which may be many weeks after they happened. The order I write them up sometimes gets mixed up if I’m particularly excited about something (in this case swathes of Lizard orchids!)!

Read more about Orchids and how to ID them. I will add more pics from this trip there when I have time.