Wild Orchids in Kent

Kent has a good variety of wild orchids and also many nature reserves managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust as well as some larger National Nature Reserves. These divide into areas of woodland and, importantly, traditional pasture never subjected to modern agricultural methods. Together, regular grazing and the absence of artificial fertiliser make for a meadow with short grass, supporting a much wider variety of plant and insect species. Marden Meadow is an outstanding example that sports a spectacular display of Green-winged orchids in April-May. How this particular field managed to survive "unimproved" I don't know; the majority of surviving ancient pasture is on steep hillsides that make modern farming methods uneconomic.

Each picture links to a high resolution image.