Beautiful bright pink Pyramidal Orchids appear at an historic Northampton estate

An orchid with bright pink flowers has appeared in the parkland at an historic Northampton estate.

The Pyramidal Orchid (or Anacamptis pyramidalis) was spotted in flower on the Courteenhall Estate by Head Groundsman Darron Wilks.

The small orchid lives up to its name, with a bright purple-pink densely packed pyramid of flowers on top of a green stem. It flowers in June, July and August and its flower spike can hold up to a hundred separate flowers. Butterflies and moths love it.

Last year, Darron also found an elusive and unique snowdrop variety thriving in the Estate’s Laundry Cottage garden which hadn’t been seen for half a century. The Courteenhall snowdrop is taller than the average snowdrop with a lot of green on the inside of the petals.

Darron, who recently celebrated his 40th anniversary working at Courteenhall, said: “I stumbled across the orchids while I was walking through the pasture one morning to look at the cattle. They’re really lovely and it feels quite special that they’re in bloom here.”

Dr Johnny Wake, Managing Partner of Courteenhall Estate, said: “Changing our grazing regime for a more natural one is allowing rare and important species to come back.

“It’s wonderful to see this orchid appear after a relatively short time and it joins other wild orchids, including the lesser spotted orchid, at Courteenhall.

“Since we reintroduced a herd of Rare Breed Traditional Hereford cattle to our parkland last year, we have been leaving our grass to grow long for them to feed on. We have noticed an increase in our biodiversity with new wildflowers and a greater variety of insect life, including butterflies and bees, who love them.”

Courteenhall is set in 2,000 acres of historic farm and parkland in South Northamptonshire. It has been owned and managed by the Wake family since 1672 and has been farmed constantly throughout that time.

https://www.courteenhall.co.uk/