By Chloe Henville

ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt

Ornamental Orchids

Sun 2 Aug 2026 at 11:01am

Small native orchids are coming up in the Midwest.

In short:

People who like flowers think it will be a great year for native orchids in Western Australia.

Many types of orchids are at their best now.

What's next?

Western Australia's Midwest is getting ready for many visitors during the wildflower season.

While many wildflowers have not bloomed yet, some special flowers are appearing.

Native orchids are hidden in the green plants.

A photographer named Bill Belson said finding these orchids is a fun challenge.

Bill Belson has been taking pictures for most of his life.

He said taking pictures of nature is like therapy for him.

He likes to go outside, get exercise, and find beautiful flowers.

Sometimes he doesn't find anything to take a picture of, but he still enjoys it.

Bill Belson likes to take pictures when the seasons change.

When it rains, everything turns green and the birds start singing.

Then, when the flowers come out, everything is very colorful.

Bill Belson will still look for orchids when all the other flowers are out.

He says it's always good to keep your eyes open.

Bill Belson thinks finding an orchid is like finding a treasure.

Many tourists come to see the wildflowers.

In a town called Morawa, a guide named Leonie Aspin said the orchids are doing very well this year.

She said it's a great year for orchids.

Many types of orchids are easy to find, like spider orchids and blue fairy orchids.

Leonie Aspin said the blue fairy orchids are very healthy.

She said tourists might not see the orchids because they are small.

The orchids are only 5 or 10 centimeters tall, so they are easy to miss.

It's a good time to find them now because the other wildflowers are not out yet.

Leonie Aspin said the town is getting ready for many visitors.

The wildflower season has not started yet, but many tourists will come to the Midwest.

ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt has local news.

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