The pink fairies shown on the right were photographed in the main valley in Morialta.
I was surprised to see so many of these small orchids. What I noticed was they seemed to be hiding amongst the fumitory and three corner garlic. I had been told by someone in the Orchid Society that the bulbous weeds, like the three corner garlic, were one of the greatest threats to our orchids. But in this case, it did get me to wondering. Why were all the orchids I saw surrounded by weeds?
Could the weeds in the main valley, especially the three corner garlic be having a protective effect. My musings entirely, but just maybe, nestled amongst the weeds, they are less likely to be picked by humans (all the ones I saw were white) and maybe the three corner garlic is a deterrent for the rabbits?
For the moment, I am thinking that we should avoid disturbing them, and instead make a record of how many we find and in what locations, so that we can compare year to year what is happening to the population. Is what we are doing helping them, or hindering them? While it is just one species, it might tell us a bit about the priorities we need to consider when working in the park.