At the time of writing we are just beginning to see the first signs of spring in Wales, with temperatures reaching the dizzy heights of 16C briefly on 17th March. Celandines, snowdrops and primroses are coming into flower, and we know it will not be long until the main body of the spring pageant of other wildflowers will rush to catch up.

Early Purple Orchids flowering in Wales

We can expect to see our first wild orchids flowering any time from mid-April onwards, the very first being the Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula). In a good year these lovely flowers can appear before the end of April, but they may be a little late this year due to the bitterly cold weather that we (and they) endured during November, December and January. This orchid is a beautiful flower, which often grows to 40cm in height. It has dark, glossy green leaves with dark spots, and its flower is pinkish-purple although some are a really deep purple colour. It is also not unknown for completely white flowers to occur, and we have seen several in Wales close to where we live. Its favoured habitats are woodland edges, and it also grows in neutral to calcareous grasslands. In Pembrokeshire in Wales it can also often be seen on roadside verges. One of its strengths and the reason why this orchid has fared better than many other species in Britain may be its tolerance of different soil types and habitats.

Green-winged Orchids flowering in Portugal in April

Early Purple Orchids have been even more abundant in past times in the UK, and they are listed as having up to 90 local names. The flowers have a very sweet scent when they first open but are described as smelling of tom cat as they age.

Generally speaking it is hard to confuse the Early Purple Orchid with any other species since it flowers so well ahead of the others, but in some places it can be accompanied, or closely followed by the Green-winged Orchid (Anacamptis morio).The Green-winged Orchid is much less common in the UK, however, and is in serious decline due to the destruction of its habitats. It is a flower of old, unimproved meadows, and this habitat is becoming rarer and rarer in these days of intensive agriculture. In certain parts of Europe it is a different story and Green-winged Orchids can occur in vast numbers. We have seen them in Portugal, Italy and France in considerable numbers. One of the best places in the UK to see these lovely orchids, which occur in a large range of colours from white, pale pink to deep purple, is Bristol Waterworks! Strange as this may seem, they have a wonderful area of grassland in front of their main building that is quite literally covered with Green-winged Orchids in late April.

Thanks to our many friends and contacts in Portugal we are already getting reports of the first orchids to appear there - so far we have been told that Sword-leaved Helleborine (Cephalanthera longifolia) is flowering in the eastern Algarve, and of the appearance of leaves of Broad-leaved Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine). Memories of our many springtime visits tell us that there will be many other species flowering by now, too - the flowering of the Mirror Orchid (Ophrys speculum), the Bumblebee Orchid (Ophrys bombyliflora), Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea) and Ophrys fusca should be in full swing.