Hello!
We came to the end of our growing portfolio of spring orchid tours for 2026 at the end of May with the conclusion of our regular Kent orchid days, so we thought now was a good time to pause to catch our breath, and round up how things have gone…
With our Orchids of Tenerife tour running in early February, the spring orchid season now starts that little bit earlier than ever before. Early enough to offer a welcome break from the cold, wet darkness of a northern European winter, certainly. This year’s inaugural tour there was a resounding success, with all the target species found, and Tenerife Giant Orchid Himantoglossum metlesicsianum in particular enjoying a terrific year with many flowers in great condition.
Orchids of Cyprus followed a few weeks later, at the start of March, with our star orchid-hunter Dr Richard Bate joined there by our popular naturalist tour leader Dave Fairhurst. This dream team combined to excellent effect, with superb views had of the spring orchids to be seen on this lovely island at the peak of the flowering season, including all the big target endemic, near-endemic and regional rarity species – the likes of Ophrys kotschyi, Orchis punctulata, and Epipactis veratrifolia. Fine spring weather meant plenty of butterflies, invertebrates, reptiles, and of course masses of wildflowers were all very much in evidence too. The only fly in the ointment, alas, was the travel disruption on arrivals day imposed by the incipient conflict in the Middle East – thankfully Richard and Dave are calm and organised leaders and, with great communication with all affected guests from them and David Moore at Mariposa HQ, events were handled efficiently. Our thanks go to both leaders for their hard work, and to those guests affected for their patience, tolerance and understanding as events unfolded.
Happily there were no such disruptions for our subsequent orchid tours, the next of which were in Rhodes. Jon Dunn was based there for us for a month in March / April, covering three back-to-back tours – the first a private tour for members of the Orchid Conservation Alliance, and the latter two our regular flagship Orchids of Rhodes tour. Jon’s co-leaders for these were professional plant photographer Sarah Cuttle and, latterly, Dr Richard Bate. To say our groups did well would be to substantially understate the case!
When we saw 55 species during Orchids of Rhodes in 2025 we said this was a total that was unlikely to be eclipsed any time soon. Turns out, we were wrong, for in our final week’s tour this year Richard and Jon’s group chalked up a staggering 56 species… Over the course of the three weeks we also saw an array of wonderful colour forms, varieties, and hybrids, with our own finds augmented by the discoveries of our generous Austrian, German, and Hungarian friends. We are part of a network of European orchid-hunters who share our finds with one another, and this is greatly to the benefit of our guests. And we certainly have our guests to thank in this regard too, not least the sharp eyes of Jane who, in our final Orchids of Rhodes week, found a gorgeous example of Ophrys bombyliflora x Ophrys rhodia, a very rare hybrid indeed.
Our guides were also enjoying a rich run of form on the island where hybrids were concerned, not least Sarah, who discovered two outstanding plants of Ophrys cretica ssp. beloniae x Ophrys speculum – a hybrid of which we could find no prior record, let alone any reference images – and what plants these were, with amazing petrol blue, iridescent, marbled lips, bruised pink sepals, and deep amethyst lateral petals.
Our attention turned next to Sardinia and Crete. In Sardinia, Italian orchid-hunting legend and Mariposa leader Michele Viganò took the helm; while in Crete, Richard Bate was back on an island he knows intimately. Both leaders’ great knowledge and prior experience of the islands came to the fore for the benefit of their groups – Orchids of Sardinia finished on 33 species, while Orchids of Crete set a new record for a Mariposa ‘Orchids of…’ tour, with 59 species recorded during the week. Next year, surely, we’ll surpass that and break the 60 species barrier…
Both Miki and Richard would like to thank their guests for their sharp eyes and company during the week – totals like these are made possible by friendly teamwork, which we find is always a particular feature on our tours. And, while it’s not ‘all about the numbers’, they certainly speak volumes about the quality of both our leaders’ knowledge of the destinations in which they orchid-hunt, and that collaborative and enjoyable combination of guests’ and leaders’ sharp eyes and excellent fieldwork.
Team Mariposa finished its spring orchid tours with two tours in Italy – the first on the Italian mainland, exploring the mighty Gargano Peninsula; and the second on the fabulous island of Sicily, home to our brilliant Italian naturalist leader Andrea Corso. Andrea was joined there, and for the Gargano tour, by his fratello nordico, Jon Dunn. The two are firm friends, and make for an irrepressible and enthusiastic, as well as knowledgeable, duo of leaders. The Gargano was, as ever, a feast for the orchid-hunter’s eyes, with fields full of orchids in full bloom – one particularly memorable hillside boasted over a dozen species within two square metres alone! Orchids of the Gargano Peninsula finished just shy of the half century, with 49 species recorded there during a most enjoyable week.
Sicily, meanwhile, never fails to impress, and our Late Spring Orchids of Sicily tour hit all the right notes, with all of the special target species seen, and seen well. There cannot be many European orchid enthusiasts who’ve seen both Sicilian endemics Ophrys mirabilis and Ophrys pallida within the same day… but our guests were thus blessed. Highlights really were too many to mention, but watching over 30 migratory Honey Buzzard kettling overhead and gaining height, while we admired the achingly beautiful Ophrys lacaitae on a hilltop below them, particularly stands out. That and some close encounters with some exceptional pistachio ice creams across the island… having a native Sicilian tour leader made a world of difference in finding the best secret locations on this enigmatic island for ice creams and orchids alike!
Before we take our leave of news from Italy, it’s worth mentioning our inaugural Spring Butterflies in Abruzzo tour. While this was billed as a butterfly tour – and they certainly didn’t disappoint – with Michele and Jon co-leading the tour, and with several guests bringing a keen interest in orchids, we recorded a very respectable 29 species and some superb hybrids too. And that was without really trying! For anyone with a combined interest in butterflies and orchids, this might just be the perfect tour for you.
Speaking of tours to consider, our full range of orchid tours for 2027 is now on our website. The 2027 edition of Orchids of Rhodes sold out last year, and the 2028 edition also sold out even before we ran the successful 2026 tours – that stands testament to our unparalleled knowledge of the island’s orchids, and our proven track record there in the past. We’ve laid on a second Orchids of Rhodes week for 2028, in the last week of March, and that tour is already almost completely full – there are just 2 places left available to join us there.
But back to 2027! Orchids of Tenerife, Orchids of Cyprus, Orchids of Sardinia, and Orchids of Crete are already all at ‘guaranteed departure’ status, and filling up steadily. The first booking came in for Orchids of the Gargano Peninsula last week, and we’ve little doubt that this and Orchids of Sicily will move to guaranteed departure soon enough. Looking later in the year, Summer Orchids of the French Alps is also a guaranteed departure, and has just 4 places left available to join Mr Ghost Orchid himself, Richard Bate, for Ghost Orchid and an enticing array of montane orchid species and other alpine wildflowers in July 2027.
You’ll find details of all of those orchid tours here on our website – the Tour Calendar page is a handy starting point for an overview of our portfolio of tours, their running dates, and their current availability – to read more about any tour that catches your eye, simply click on the tour’s name on the tour calendar to be taken to its dedicated tour page. If you’ve any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line or give us a call – we’re always happy to help and to talk.
All 2027 (and 2028!) tours booked before 1 December 2026 qualify for our Early Bird booking deal, offering £150 off the list price of the tour. And of course, all prior Mariposa guests can add an additional £50 loyalty discount to that – so it pays to reserve your place in good time.
Needless to say, all of our orchid holidays generate a donation to support the brilliant botanical conservation work of the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland (BSBI). We’ve done that since our very first Mariposa orchid tour, and we make our donations to BSBI straight after our tours operate – we don’t think conservation charities should have to wait months or years for promised support to materialise. These donations matter deeply to us, and we know they matter to our guests too.
We’ll sign off now, hoping you’re seeing some fine orchids close to home at the moment. At the time of writing in June it’s Dactylorhiza season, and Richard and Jon can’t help themselves, both exploring their local patches in Cumbria and Shetland respectively. We’re posting their finds on our social media platforms, and we’d love you to share your finds with us there too. If you’re not already part of the weekly Wildflower Hour community on BlueSky, Instagram, or X (we still think of the latter as Twitter!) then do take a look at their accounts – botanists from all over Britain and Ireland, and further afield, come together every Sunday 8-9pm to share their finds with the world. It’s a really friendly and helpful corner of social media.
Take care everyone, and wishing you happy orchid-hunting!
