It is always a treat to stumble across a native orchid, like this Pink Lady’s Slipper. The Pink Lady’s Slipper can take five years to bloom, but they can live to be twenty years old or more.
Pink Lady’s Slipper
Picture of the Day for August 22, 2022
I miss seeing the Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid that grew a couple of years near my pond and I keep hoping that a new plant will appear. The blossoms seems like they are dancing and enjoying the day.
Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid Blossoms
Picture of the Day for June 27, 2022
It is always a special treat to stumble across a native orchid when out for a hike and the Yellow Lady’s Slipper is a bright patch of yellow sunshine among the green backdrop. The yellow slipper blossom is about 2 inches long.
Yellow Lady’s Slipper
Picture of the Day for June 26, 2021
The Ridges Sanctuary is a 1,600 acre nature preserve and land trust in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin which also operates an orchid restoration project. There are over twenty five native orchid species there and during a visit there earlier this month, the Ram’s Head Lady’s Slipper was supposed to be blooming. After seeing the Yellow Lady Slippers earlier in the week and with a name with ram head, I was expecting a large blossom. But instead this Wisconsin Threatened plant flower is only a half inch to an inch long so it was very hard to spot in the woods as even the small spider in the photo appeared to longer than the blossom.
Ram’s Head Lady’s Slipper
Picture of the Day for June 14, 2021
With Lake Michigan on one side and the warmer water of Green Bay on the other side of the peninsula of Door County, it was interesting that not only were the wildflowers a month or more behind in blooming compared to my woods, the ten miles or so between the two coasts also had a difference in what flowers were in blossoms.
There were flowers there not present in my area and it was a lovely treat to find patches of Yellow Lady’s Slipper orchids still in full bloom.
Yellow Lady’s Slippers
Picture of the Day for July 12, 2020
With slightly lower temperatures, it was more pleasurable to spend time outside so a walk looking for wildflower might be a good activity on a Sunday sunny summer day. Last summer my sister showed me the different flowers growing around her area including these Tuberous Grass-pink, an orchid native to eastern North America.
Tuberous Grass-pink
Picture of the Day for June 19, 2020
Many of these lady’s slipper blossoms will not get pollinated as bumblebees have learned there is no nectar so not worth the effort to navigate the small opening and approximately only 10% will produce fruit containing thousands of tiny seeds. The plant can live up to 100 years but it takes a long time to bloom the first time and will not bloom every year if conditions are poor, so seeds may only be produced a few times during its life.
Pink Lady’s Slipper
Picture of the Day for July 14, 2019
This stem of Tuberous Grass-pink is full of blossoms as it slightly waves from the gentle breeze and adds a touch of color among grass.
Tuberous Grass-pink Blossoms
Picture of the Day for July 8, 2019
When I was mowing today, I watched the spot where a native orchid had bloomed for several years until last year and so far, no sign of it this year either. So it was a good thing my sister recently took me on an adventure down a sandy bank and through some soggy ground to the orchids near bogs in her area to photo them. What I thought might have been Dragon’s Mouth, could be Rose Pogonia or Snake-mouth Orchid instead. I guess either way, it had the word mouth in the name and is still a pretty flower.
Maybe a Snake-mouth Orchid
Picture of the Day for July 6, 2019
Another native orchid found in Wisconsin may not be observed very often since it is normally found in wet boggy (and buggy) conditions. The Dragon’s Mouth (or Swamp Pink) flowers offer little nectar even though they are sweetly scented and colorful. Bees quickly learn to avoid these flowers, so pollination is dependent on inexperienced and recently-emerged bumblebees.
Dragon’s Mouth Orchids
