Congratulations, your neglected lawn is home to an orchid! Imagine that, your own wild orchid and a species never recorded in your vicinity. But, if you are a typical gardener then no chance. You will have used chemical fertilisers, even weedkillers, so that was the end of the orchid. However, I have visited three properties, and three poor lawns in Highcliffe have this little gem growing in their garden. There is just one plant in one garden, and eight plants in each of two others. To be honest, it amazes me. I have never seen this orchid before but now I know it, I can see it. That is a foraging skill we humans once possessed, to recognise the shade and shape of a plant. Autumn Lady’s-Tresses is not to be eaten, just admired, as one of natures wonders.

The complexity

The seed of this orchid is like dust. However, once in the soil it has to find a symbiotic association with mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi. The corm then grows for 11 years beneath ground before putting up a rosette of leaves. This is quite small and not readily seen, in August or September. The leaves die by the following June and there is nothing above ground prior to flowering. A curling stem, with white flowers, scented, and no higher than 15cm, will appear within 2 to 4 years, again, in August or September. It is the last orchid to flower each year. The flower will be pollinated by bees and set seed within about 3 weeks. Then the leaves (rosette) will appear again and will last to the following June. It is weather dependent so might miss flowering for some years.

Autumn Lady’s-Tresses

This orchid needs full sun and poor soil. Both nitrogen fertiliser and weedkillers will destroy it. Neither can it compete with taller plants so mowing is essential. It really needs a lawn, preferably a rabbit grazed sward. The mowing should stop in late August and September to allow the flower seeds to mature and fall, or blow in the wind. Mowing can continue after the flower is over, as the mower should not damage the leaves below. Is that not a fascinating plant, a specialist that spends most of its life hiding underground.