One of the truly wonderful things that has happened to me this year has been finding and noticing orchids. I have always been aware of them, but can’t actually remember finding them before, which as a 62-year-old naturalist is quite extraordinary. Having found several different species this year, I am now super-aware of all things orchid, so coming across this piece by The Chaotic Gardener (AKA Stacy H.Art) in St Mark’s Avenue was pure heaven.
I don’t know the artist at all, but she has put her heart and soul into the ‘Pathways for Pollinators’ project, tidying up the area’s alleyways with planters and street art. The Chaotic Gardener has painted three orchids in this piece and labelled them: heath spotted, early purple and common spotted orchid. Wonderful stuff, and great to have some botanical accuracy represented on the streets.
Here are some of the orchids I have found:
Natural adventures 
We are lucky here in Bristol to have a few incredibly rare Orchids that can be found almost nowhere else on the planet.
The Downs and Ashton Court both have their fair share of these and whilst most people probably won’t notice them or understand what they are, to those of us who do they are always a complete pleasure to see . . .
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