I met Wendy Probert out towards St Andrews, on Melbourne’s north-eastern edge, and we spent the day walking along roadsides, stopping often, and looking closely.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like much. A strip of vegetation beside the road. But once you slow down, it starts to open up.

Orchids.

Wendy is an incredible source of knowledge when it comes to native orchids. She’s spent decades searching for them, studying them, and sharing that knowledge with others. She’s a long-time member of the Australian Native Orchid Society and a director of the Australian Orchid Foundation, and it shows in the way she sees a landscape.

As we walk, she introduces me to the orchids that occur around Melbourne, how to recognise them, and how different they can be. Some are there for weeks, others only for days. Some are obvious, others you could step straight past without ever knowing they were there.

We talk about why roadsides are so important, how these plants survive in very specific conditions, and the relationships they have with fungi, pollinators and the surrounding vegetation.

What stood out to me was just how much is going on at a really small scale. The soil, the slope, the companion plants, even the insects moving through. It all matters.

It’s a slower kind of walk. A lot of stopping, a lot of looking, and the feeling that there’s always more there if you take the time.

If you get the chance, head out that way and have a look. You might start to see things a bit differently.