Orchids may have a reputation as an exotic flower but did you know there are over 50 native species in the UK? June is a wonderful time to look out for some of these beauties so let’s take a tour with our Nature Reserves team as they share some of our sites where you are likely to find a particular orchid. Discover too the actions they are taking to manage habitats for the protection of these blooming wonderful sights. A majority of these reserves are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), reflecting their national importance and highlighting their high conservation value and need to be protected.

Heath Spotted-orchid Frogmore Meadows Nature Reserve, SSSI, between Chenies and Latimer

“These uncommon orchids, with colours ranging from pale purple through to white, with small pink markings and up to 45cm high (but can be much shorter), are found in a small area of dry grassland that is quite vulnerable to Blackthorn scrub invasion. So, in addition to the cattle grazing, we run work parties to remove the young Blackthorn, with a practice known as ‘tree popping’.”

Anna Daniels, Reserves Officer

White Helleborine Fox Covert Nature Reserve, SSSI, near Royston 

“Shady conditions sometimes called ‘glancing light’ of the Beech woodland at Fox Covert are enjoyed by these orchids, which are usually in flower by the end of May/beginning of June and reach a height of up to 60cm. An increase to the number of visitors to the reserve means that we’ve introduced path management to encourage people to keep to the footpath. This is important not just when the orchids are in flower but also for the rest of the year to prevent soil compaction and its impact on the plants. The other threat to the orchids here is the Privet that has a tendency to spread across the site – we run two work parties a year to stop that happening.”

Sam Henderson, Assistant Reserves Officer

Early Marsh-orchid Blagrove Common Nature Reserve, SSSI, near Sandon 

“We manage this wet grassland with cattle grazing in the summer through to autumn. This improves growing conditions by reducing the more dominant plants such as False Oat-grass and Meadowsweet, making space for the Early Marsh-orchid to thrive, as well as the Southern Marsh-orchid, Common Spotted-orchid and their hybrids which can all be found here. We also cut the rushes to prevent them smothering the flowers, as well as manual scrub removal to keep that down and, again, this makes the reserve better for orchids as well as species like the Marbled White butterfly.”

Kathryn Dunnett, Reserves Officer

Fragrant-orchid Hexton Chalk Pit Nature Reserve, Hexton

“Hexton Chalk Pit is arguably our best orchid site. Fragrant-orchids live up to their name with a sweet orangey smell that becomes particularly strong in the evening. These are classic orchids of chalk grassland, and we manage this habitat with sheep grazing. This used to be supplemented by the local rabbit population, but in recent years this seems to have struggled. So, to compensate for that, we've tried a manual cut on a small area of the northern compartment. We’ll see how this responds and may introduce manual cutting on rotation until the rabbit population recovers. We’ve always managed the scrub on site manually using this practice to stop it invading the orchid-rich grassland.”

Dan Townsend, Senior Reserves Officer

We hope you have enjoyed learning more about these precious wildflowers and our work to protect them. To read more stories about how our Nature Reserves team are working to help local nature thrive, visit our news page.