Autumn Orchids

A good sized colony.

To my great surprise the Autumn Lady's Tresses Spiranthes spiralis (Fr. Spiranthe d'automne) have had a great flowering season both in terms of how long the species has been in flower (the whole of September) and how many flowers each plant has produced (the one in my potager has a good 30 flowers twisting up its stem). I really thought the extremely dry summer would mean they simply stayed dormant and didn't bother to flower, but not a bit of it. The one in the potager has a distinct bergamot scent (if you are prepared to get down on your hands and knees and get right up close). Autumn Lady's Tresses are pollinated by bees, including bumble bees, and luckily, with all this warm dry weather there are still plenty about.

In John and Alice's lawn.

I've also recorded them this year outside the Médiatheque in Preuilly (this plant appeared a couple of years ago); in John and Alice's garden near Bossay sur Claise (they have had a substantial colony of c.40 plants for many years); a dozen or so in the grass at the Chateau of Chaumont (a new observation for me).

In the potager.