Flowers of the Yorkshire Dales 9 of 10

Here we have a very common flowering plant but it is very hard to spot being all green and only about a couple of inches high, the Common Crosswort just about to open its four individual petals.

The early Marsh Orchid in a water meadown in Yorkshire, the farmer wants it kept a secret, so let it be, the distinctive salmon pink is unique once seen, truly wonderful.

In the same field and water meadown is the Narrow Leaved Marsh Orchid, again not to be disclosed but here for all to enjoy, truly wonderful plants that have survived since the end of the last ice age.

The Pyramidal Orchid another unique species and one only found where traditional farming practices and limited grazing is extant, which is well after they have flowered before letting in their livestock, the Yorkshire Dales has had some intensification but a few dedicated locals have ensured their survival.

Meet Rob our freindly Robin, I eventually got this smart little fellow to feed out of my hand in our garden, here he is sat on my car rear view mirror, it was the only way I get get him to come down close enough, if I stood outside he would only come near my feet.

An early Purple Orchid in the woods on the banks of the River Swale, it can often be found where the sun shines through the early canopy before the leaves block out the light, this is one of the largest specemins I have found to date, over a foot high and obviously in some good ground and just the right spot.

Another speciality of the old garden wall is this Henbit Dead Nettle, not rare but a hardy species growing out of an old lime moter wall and doing well in the spring sunshine, it manages to grow here every year.

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