Twayblade, Fly and Lady orchids - native orchids in Kent

It was one of those unexpected pleasures where you hope for something nice and then everything turns out even better: at the weekend we went to Yockletts Bank. We'd heard about it years ago when visiting another nature reserve in Kent to admire cowslips and orchids and fellow visitors recommended it to us. Two days ago, wanting to get out of London but not really sure where to, we suddenly remembered. But was it orchid time? We weren't sure: memory suggested it was too late for some and too early for others. So we googled Yockletts and, lo and behold, main visiting time the website said was April and May. Off we went...

Yockletts Bank Nature Reserve - open view at the start of the path

The road bisects the nature reserve and, having parked near Yockletts Farm and walked back to the reserve's entrance, we chose the site to the left first. Which was probably a good thing as we found many more orchids in this smaller area than we did later on the other side of the road. Indeed, we had just walked a few metres when an elderly gentleman drew our attention to the first specimens. I'm truly glad he did, because quite possibly we would have walked past many of them before noticing the first!

You see, we love plants - including native orchids, of course - but we are not orchid aficionados. We do not have specialist knowledge and - quite frankly - in the case of Twayblade (Listera ovata or Neottia ovata) didn't even know what to look out for. If  you haven't seen them before, these orchids with their small green flowers are easy to miss amongst other greenery - especially since they only just started to come into flower. At a very casual glance, they reminded me of broadleaf plantain (Plantago major). But once we'd seen them, we spotted them literally everywhere. There must have been hundreds if not thousands of them.

Spot the orchid...

... if you don't know what you're looking for

Twayblade - Listera ovata

Very soon, we found other orchids, too. Apparently, Yockletts is one of the best places in the UK to see the Lady orchid (Orchis purpurea). They grew in the shade of the wood as well as on grassland, where they mingled picturesquely with cowslips (Primula veris). We even found the rare white form.

The Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula) grew mainly in the wooded parts amongst the bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) - a colour effect which, to my eyes at least, jarred horribly! I consoled myself with the lovely patches of wild garlic (Allium ursinum) in full flower, one of my favourites at this time of year. If it hadn't been a nature reserve, I'd have picked a huge bunch - for the vase as well as for the kitchen. How I wish I had a good-sized patch somewhere at hand locally...

Our favourite find, however, had to be the Fly orchid (Ophrys insectifera)! Like the Twayblade, they were only just starting to come into flower. And as they are so slender and inconspicuous, they are even easier to miss. Since they often grow right next to the path, you have to be extremely careful (which I'm please to say we were) not to tread on them. Close up, though, they are nothing short of a marvel! And marvel I did. We even started to compete who'd find the next one - and who would find the one with most flowers open.