Lady Slipper

Greater Yellow Lady Slipper
(Cypripedium pubescens)

The wild orchid colony has probably been resident in our woodland for close to a century, and its lush blooming at the end of May is something I wait for breathlessly every year. I could find my way to the orchid grove barefoot and blind and on my hands and knees.

For all the delicate perfection of the pink and white Showy Lady Slipper (Cypripedium reginae) blooming around the time of the Summer Solstice in June, this is the magnificent wild orchid that makes my heart sing and dance and go skipping through the glade - carefully of course, lest I disturb the orchids in their own nodding rites of celebration.