Flowers lovers flock to Vermont bog for wild orchids
HARTLAND, Vt. — Each spring and summer, a Vermont bog yields a rare spectacle — hundreds of wild orchids in bloom, drawing visitors from around the country.
The bulbous pink and white showy lady’s slippers (Cypripedium reginae) are on full display among the ferns, bushes and chirping birds at Eshqua Bog in Hartland.
This particular orchid, considered rare in Vermont and a number of other states and different from the more common pink lady’s slipper, thrives in Eshqua, because of the wet, sunny conditions, with soils containing peat and lime.
Mary English drove about an hour from Landgrove, Vermont, to see the orchids on Thursday. When she arrived, she had the bog to herself.