It’s been three years since I last spotted these beautiful little orchids, Common twayblades (Neottia ovata), at Lavernock Nature Reserve.

While the Wildlife Trust was busy renegotiating a new lease for the reserve with the local council, a process that seemed to take a very long time, the reserve was neglected and became very overgrown, so it was impossible to walk along some of the paths, let alone find these very small orchids amongst the vegetation.

And then, when the lease was finalised and the Wildlife Trust resumed its maintenance work, someone from their staff decided it would be a good idea to build a fence right through the area where the Common twayblades had been growing.

I had thought the habitat destruction involved in the fence building would have been the end of the orchids but it seems they’re tough little plants, and I was able to pick out at least a dozen just coming in to flower during last Tuesday’s visit to the reserve. Very good news!