Our small Country Park was created from reclaimed industrial land - an alpine range of slag heaps to be precise - but with residential development and landscaping it has been allowed to develop into a natural and diverse habitat. At this time of year, several areas are quite densely populated with Early Purple, and Northern Marsh Orchids, and it has been a joy to see these patches of colour grow larger and stronger each year. This year one of these patches has also had a scattering of Bee Orchids on the fringes of the more common varieties. It does make you marvel where they could have been hiding all these years. Probably there were odd ones lurking from previous years, and this years weather conditions has suited them. I hope they manage to survive long enough to set plenty of seed for future years - unlike the single, and quite rare Ghost Orchid, which I found on my field when we lived in High Peak. It was right on the edge of the field and I did try to protect it, but one of the calves managed to squidge it into the ground, never to reappear.
