29 Wednesday Jun 2022
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
Yesterday I went for a meander to check how the orchids were doing this year on the Cardiff side of the River Ely. You might remember in early June last year I blogged about the Fiesta of Bee orchids happening along the verges of Ferry Road near Cardiff Bay. I hoped I hadn’t left it too late for this year’s display; the verges are a little more overgrown, the grasses taller, but the Bee orchids are flowering again in their hundreds and look just as amazing.
29 Sunday May 2022
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
… seeing my first Bee orchid for 2022!
06 Sunday Jun 2021
Posted in plants, wildflowers
Tags
#NoMowMay, Bee orchid, British wildflowers, Native British orchid, native orchids, urban orchids, wildflowers in road verges
If you live in or around or anywhere near Cardiff and you like orchids, then get yourself down to Ferry Road in Cardiff Bay, because there is a Bee orchid fiesta happening right now, and probably for the next few weeks.
It’s completely free. All you have to do is walk along the pavement on the west side of the road adjacent to the Cardiff Bay Retail Centre and look at the verge, because the good folks who manage the Retail Centre agreed to stop mowing said verge this spring, and the result is an explosion of Bee orchids.
I kid you not! One of the council’s community rangers did a count yesterday and reckons there are over 800 spikes, many of which are not yet in bloom. It is seriously amazing, and just shows what botanic marvels are in our road verges if the councils and corporations would just let them grow.
31 Sunday May 2020
Posted in nature, wildflowers
Tags
Anacamptis pyramidalis, Bee orchid, British orchids, Grangemoor Park, native orchids, Ophrys apifera), Pyramidal orchid
You might be wondering what pyramids and bees have in common. Well, in this case, they’re both orchids: the Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) and the Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera), and I was very pleasantly surprised to see rather a lot of them, especially the Bees, during my most recent walk around Grangemoor Park.
With their classic triangular shape, Pyramidal orchids are easy to identify. They usually flower during June and July, and each flower spike can contain up to a hundred individual flowers. Interesting fact: the Pyramidal orchid is the county flower of the Isle of Wight.
Bee orchids are my favourite orchids. Their markings and furry texture may be intended to attract bumblebees (and the flowers also produce a female bee smell, apparently) but it’s their laughing ‘faces’ that enchant me and always make me smile. And the people of Bedfordshire made the perfect choice when they selected the Bee orchid as their county flower.
01 Monday Jul 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Some of the beautiful Bee orchids in my local wild places are starting to go over now, punished perhaps by the extreme June heat we’ve been experiencing. So, before they disappear completely for another year, I thought I’d share some of their wonderfully cheery, smiling faces. No two are the same.
25 Saturday May 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
Aberbargoed Grasslands, Bee orchid, British orchids, Common spotted orchid, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Early purple orchid, Heath spotted-orchid, Lavernock Nature Reserve, native orchids
As more and more orchids are now appearing, I thought I’d post a few photos of those I’ve seen so far this year. The first were the aptly named Early purples (Orchis macula), though this year they were even earlier than usual I’m told – I spotted these beauties at Lavernock Nature Reserve on 23 April.
Next up were these pretty little Heath spotted-orchids (Dactylorhiza maculata) found growing at the Aberbargoed Grasslands National Nature Reserve on 15 and 21 March, when I was visiting for the Marsh fritillaries.
During Monday’s wander at Lavernock I spotted the first open flower of a Common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsia) and on Thursday, 23 May, I found the first couple of these at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.
And today’s delightful discovery, also at Cosmeston, was my first Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) for 2019. I look forward to the warm summer days when the fields at Cosmeston are awash with (mostly Common spotted) orchids – they’re a joy to behold!
09 Saturday Jun 2018
Tags
#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Bee orchid, Blackcap, Brimstone butterfly, Common blue butterfly, Common spotted orchid, Emperor dragonfly, Grangemoor Park, Holly blue butterfly, Large skipper, long-tailed tit, Meadow Brown, Pyramidal orchid, Southern marsh orchid
Day 9 of #30DaysWild saw me at Grangemoor Park, a place that used to be Cardiff’s rubbish dump: when it closed in 1994, it contained an estimated four million cubic metres of garbage, both commercial and household. Now, it’s not only a public park but also a SINC (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation), and is home to a wonderfully diverse range of flora and fauna. My photos show just some of what I discovered there today …
Large skipper butterfly
One of seven Meadow brown butterflies seen today
Male Common blue butterfly
Holly blue butterfly (and tiny friend)
Brimstone butterfly (one of my favourites)
Emperor dragonfly. There were many other dragonflies and damselflies at the pond but they were a bit distant for photos.
One of four newly fledged Long-tailed tits, foraging with their parents
Female Blackcap busy foraging for her family
Pyramidal orchids
Bee orchid – love their ‘faces’!
Southern marsh orchid (I think)
Common spotted orchids
03 Sunday Jun 2018
Posted in flowers, nature, parks, wildflowers
Tags
#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Bee orchid, British orchids, Common spotted orchid, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Greater butterfly-orchid, orchid, Southern marsh orchid
For day three of #30DaysWild I went searching for orchids at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, and I got lucky. The Common spotted-orchids are blooming in good numbers now, two of the small number of well hidden Greater butterfly-orchids are flowering, I found my first Bee orchid of the season, and I think I found my first Southern marsh-orchid as well. It couldn’t get much better than that!
Common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)
Greater butterfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha)
Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera)
Southern marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) (and Common blue butterfly)
09 Friday Jun 2017
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
Anacamptis pyramidalis, Bee orchid, British flora, British orchids, Common spotted orchid, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Dactylorhiza fuchsii, Greater butterfly-orchid, native orchids, Ophrys apifera), orchid, Platanthera chlorantha, Pyramidal orchid
The meadows at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park are awash with orchids, Common spotted-orchids, (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), Bee orchids (Ophrys apifera), Pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis) and, in a secluded location off the beaten track, a tiny smattering of Greater butterfly-orchids (Platanthera chlorantha). To walk along the paths amongst these beauties is simply magical!
02 Friday Jun 2017
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers
Finding my very first Bee orchids (Ophrys apifera) in a local park this week made my day! I know they’re designed to entice male bees to attempt mating with their flowers in order to facilitate pollination but to me they actually look like jolly smiling and laughing mouths.
I had to find out more, and I have to say that, when it comes to wild plants, I love the Plantlife website – as well as giving you the straight facts and figures about British plants, they also include the most interesting fact-lets, like these:
* The aim of the mimicry is to attract passing male bees in the hope they will try to mate and thus aid pollination. In Britain, however, Bee orchids self-pollinate so the deception is not really required.
* This wild flower was once called the “Humble Bee” orchid (Humble being a variation of Bumble).
* According to Roman natural historian Pliny the Elder it was used by womenfolk to darken their eyebrows.
* The Bee orchid is the County Flower of Bedfordshire.
* In the Language of Flowers it stands for error and industry.
earthstar 
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