Last year’s exceptionally wet weather is thought to have encouraged the growth of Autumn ladies Tresses in Beer Road.

A colony of rare orchids is enjoying a bumper year in Seaton.

The population of Autumn ladies Tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) grows on roadside verges along Beer Road and the plants have been monitored over the last few years by Axe Vale and District Conservation Society members.

This year has seen hundreds of flowering plants emerge due, in part, to last year’s heavy rains which often stimulate orchid growth the following year.

The orchids flower from late August through September and early October.

Rob Beard from AVDCS said: “It’s fantastic to see so many plants flourishing this year. These verges are fragments of unimproved grassland of high conservation value with many notable plants apart from just orchids. Proper management could make them great wildlife habitats.”