Whilst the Algarvian hills in springtime are stunning, at this time of year you don’t need to go far inland to discover the Algarve’s floral delights. You do though, as my Mum discovered on Monday in the Vale of Bengado, need to keep your eyes peeled if you really want to appreciate orchidaceae. It isn’t that they are rare in the Algarve, there are after all around 30 orchid species here. However they have a tendency to be overlooked if you walk quickly or are caught up with the natural beauty which surrounds them. 
Once spotted though you will almost certainly be overtaken with the Victorian disease of orchidelirum, especially if you come across a patch of bee orchids.
The serapias are far more subtle, and I suspect many not even realise these are orchids. Most of them were not quite out on Monday, nor were they yesterday in the Ria Formosa park. However I did manage to find this one.
All of these photographs were taken on a short stroll of less than a mile, and as I said at the start it wasn’t just the orchids that were capturing our attention.
We had come on the walk though for the orchids, so I’ll finish with a few more. The first two are probably hybrids, the next two I am feeling confident enough to say are the Bumblebee Orchid and the final one which we saw the most of is a Mirror Orchid. Which means, if I include the hybrids, we discovered at least six species on this short stroll. So combined with my six word title makes it perfect for Debbie’s first hosting of Six Word Saturday. Do come join us, everyone welcome!
A wonderful educational tour, the slide show photography was absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for your lovely comments. I’m so glad you enjoyed and delighted you popped by