Wild orchids. The basic trio is now complete.

In the close vicinity of the farm, there are three wild orchid species: Serapias lingua, Anacamptis papilionacea and Ophrys tenthredinifera. Here are some earlier pics from spring 2016. So far however, we only had spotted one very small population of Serapias l. on the farm itself, one that seems to have flowered neither in spring 2017, nor in spring 2018. One good 2018 surprise is that very close to that small population of Serapias l., we found one plant of Ophrys t. along the sheep fence. We protected it with a few Iberian pear branches

Interestingly enough, 600 meters away, in the new orchard, there was a large population of Eucera bees gathering pollens and nectars. These are the specific pollinators of Ophrys orchids.

And a few meters further, in the meadow along a great pond full of floating water Ranunculus, we came across one Anacamptis P. in flower.

Conclusion: we now have the three basic local species of wild orchids on the farm. These are not real populations yet but the hope is that through careful grassland management, we will experience an increase in these populations. And we might even see other orchid species joining them. Cross fingers.