Better late than never

When I visited this local churchyard about 3 weeks ago I was surprised to find no sign of the Green-winged orchids that grow there at all - not even a leaf! I was quite concerned at that point that the extreme cold spell we had in early March had taken it's toll on these beautiful wild orchids.
Anyway, I returned today to find the orchids are fine thank goodness, just very late ( this time last year they were all but over!) some were in their prime - like this one, but most were still in bud, with the best flush yet to come. 
The Green-winged or Green-veined orchid Anacamptis morio, can be found flowering in meadows in late spring. It dislikes soil disruption and improvement and as a result suffered badly at the hand of agricultural practice. In Sussex (East and West) the best populations can be found in undisturbed, unimproved old churchyards and high on the downs. The name comes from the green-striped sepals, and the Latin name 'morio' refers to the green-striped sepals and their resemblance to a Jester's motley