The Orchid Family is one of the largest family of flowering plants in the world, some 40,000 species, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. The Orchid is Tom Hart Dyke's favourite flower and the main reason he ventured into the Darien Gap - a kidnapping that almost cost him his life. So it's with great excitement that Lullingstone finally has its own Orchid House called 'Orchis' - the Greek for Orchid.

Opened in May 2016 by Tom's Dad, Guy Hart Dyke, specimens are still being added with the long term aim of housing some 200 varieties of orchid mainly from the Cool Cloud Forests of Asia, Australia, Africa and the Americas. The world's most dangerous plant, the Deadly Stinger, also grows in the Orchid House behind a wire cage for visitors' safety!