Volunteers will survey traditional wild flower meadows on a nature reserve near Tregaron at the end of June and count flowering heads of heath spotted orchids. The count is an annual occasion designed to assess whether conservation management is working.
Last year, 2270 heath spotted orchids were recorded across the 25-acre site, a privately owned nature reserve and glamping location.
The heath-spotted orchids found at Orchid Meadows range in colour from almost white to pink to deep purple. They have been identified as Dactylorhiza maculata subspecies ericetorum. They cope well with the heavy, damp, acid soils common in West Wales. Populations take a long time to establish and can be reduced or lost altogether by modern farming methods relying on chemicals. The meadows at this Tregaron small-holding have, over the past five years, been returned to nature-friendly management.
Site owner Stephen Hounsham said: “Wild flower numbers obviously fluctuate year on year due to weather patterns and the wet conditions last year suited our orchids well. It will be interesting to compare last year’s results with the picture this year. We will see what impact the exceptionally dry spring has had.”
As well as heath spotted orchids, smaller numbers of lesser butterfly orchid and broad-leaved helleborine are expected to be recorded on-site.
Orchid Meadows offers short breaks and longer holidays in Tawny Little House, Red Kite Yurt and Goldfinch Glampavan. Guests are attracted from across Wales, England and beyond. People have even stayed who live at Aberystwyth, just 30 minutes away, providing the perfect example of a stay-cation.
The meadows are managed traditionally with no artificial fertilisers or pesticides. They are cut for hay in late August after most wild plants have flowered and set seed. The bales are used at a nearby horse training centre for feed and bedding. Orchids spread more easily underground naturally but seed is also collected from the fields before cutting and then scattered and trodden in the following spring.
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