I have had lots of queries from people asking when they should come up to see the orchids so I took a day off and went up there to see what the recent showers have done to speed things up. The general impression is that there hasn’t been much of a change – all Monkey [...]
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Popped up today to check the progress of the orchids … and the answer to that question is – “very, very late”. I am estimating they have another 2 weeks before many will be in flower – monkey orchids might even be later than that. It all depends on the weather of course and things [...] A few days ago I popped up to walk around the site and was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the Pasques were flowering brilliantly. Each clump seems to have multiple flower heads and they have even shown signs of spreading a little further away from their original grid formation. Hairy violets and cowslips [...] I went for a brisk walk today, hoping to see some early-season tachinid flies, but the chilly wind seemed to keep all insects down. The views were lovely though and the very first Hairy Violets were poking through. I also took a few photos of the orchids to show how late a season it is [...] For any of you that didn’t catch our moment of fame on Radio4 you can listen to the program here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ntg59 After a really wet start to the summer that kept me off the site for months, it was a real delight today to have a walk across the slopes with some volunteers and to really take in and savour the gorgeous condition of the grassland. If you haven’t been to Hartslock in mid summer then [...] 
One of Hartslock’s less well known, but still very important residents is the Downy-fruited Sedge (Carex tomentosa). It has only been recorded in a handful of UK sites and so we are very lucky to have any at all. Even on Hartslock it is rare and restricted to a very tiny corner of the main [...] Last week I had the fun of being part of a new BBC Radio 4 series called “In Pursuit of the Ridiculous”, with Matthew Oates, Brett Westwood and Andy Byfield. The Hartslock episode covers the conservation of hybrids and whether we worry too much about hybridisation. The weather wasn’t all that good but luckily Wendy [...] Today Gerry & I put out the path guide tapes and unlocked the lower gate onto the orchid slope – thus marking the first official day of the orchid season. The weather up there was cold and very cloudy with a keen breeze at times. The paths are already very muddy and we are keen [...] This year the orchid mapping has been beset by problems – not least of which has been the incredibly wet weather – but with the help of Gerry and the other volunteers we have kept roughly on schedule to complete it on time (or a little late). The only slight problem has been that I [...] |
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