How can anyone describe these delicate little flowers as common! Each year I anticipate their arrival with delight, waiting for their elegant, rocket shaped heads to emerge and launch skywards. For one month each year, at the beginning of June, the uncompromising limestone bank behind the house is transformed into a lilac haze. This little family posed proudly for their portrait this morning having survived unscathed the torrential rain that marked the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. They are so generous in their propagation, popping up in the most unexpected places... inhabiting vacant summer pots to put on their show. Their aristocratic relative, the highly sought house orchid, is revered for it's delicacy and need for perfect conditions. There is no such pretencion in the spotted orchid, it will grace the most inhospitable landscape and transform the space with its beauty. The Common Spotted Orchid is truly one of nature's delights!
