Kent's Chalk Grassland

I recently visited Burham Down and Queendown Warren to look for early flowering orchids.  Both sites are SSSIs managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust.  They represent excellent examples of unimproved chalk downland and have some amazing plants.  I was lucky enough to find both lady and man orchid while other species of interest included ground pine and the adonis blue butterfly.  A few of the best shots below:

Lady Orchid Orchis Purpurea



Man Orchid Aceras anthropophorum



Lady Orchid

Marden Meadows SSSI

I visited Marden Meadows SSSI this weekend for some flower photography.  I've cycle past this site several times and never stopped but last weekend the floral display was pretty amazing.  It's managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust and is one of the few traditionally managed hay meadows remaining in Kent.  The site supports thousands of green-winged orchids, meadow saxifrage and adder's-tongue in addition to numerous other less common grassland species.  Below are a few of the best shots.

Marden Meadows SSSI



Adder's-tongue Ophioglossum vulgatum

Green-winged orchid Orchis morio