NO LESS than sixty stunning and buzzing bee orchids are in bloom at Uplands Recreation Ground. 

The plants are fenced off to protect them while still allowing the public space to be used for football and recreation.

The biodiversity work from the Green Spaces team at Stroud Town Council is paying off with the blossoming of the rare plant. 

Efforts to create and protect wildflower areas are allowing rare bee orchids to thrive in several locations.

(Image: Supplied)

Pete Bradshaw, Green Spaces Manager, said: "The bee orchid has such a wow factor.

"It looks exactly like a bee to attract pollinators, even though in Britain they are actually self-pollinating.

"The fact that this plant is so rare and unusual really adds to its appeal."

Mat Allen, the town's biodiversity officer, emphasised the importance of the wildflower areas as vital corridors for pollinators and other wildlife.

He said: "Transplanting bee orchids to sites managed by the town council has made a huge difference in boosting their presence around Stroud."

The bee orchid is considered one of the botanical treasures of the Five Valleys area.

By delaying mowing of some set aside areas until late July, the town council gives the orchids and other wildflowers time to complete their full blooming and seeding cycle.

Mat said: "If we create these pollinator corridors linking wildflower areas across Stroud to the surrounding commons, it will support biodiversity that is under threat from habitat loss."

Through careful meadow management, the Green Spaces team aims to make Stroud an oasis for bees, butterflies and other precious pollinators in the years ahead.