British road verges are starting to catch up, partly through the reduction of mowing for money-saving reasons, but also through a genuine desire by local authorities to encourage wild flowers. Rotherham seems to be particularly forward-thinking in this regard, with long stretches of flowering verge around the town, and signs like the one below starting to appear.
Photo: Samantha Batty
At FlowerScapes we have long been advocates of the use of non-native species to extend the flowering season of pollinator mixes – a practice supported, incidentally, by the new report from the RHS (see below) – but we have also always been careful to stress that there are situations where native-only mixes not only could but absolutely should be used. Rural road verges are a case in point, where there may be existing native semi-natural vegetation – nature reserves, SSSIs, etc – nearby.
To that end, we are very pleased to introduce our new low-growing native mix designed specifically for road verges where the preservation of sight-lines is a requirement. It contains a selection of attractive, colourful native wildflowers. The mix, once established will only need mowing once a year, but it can be mowed more frequently if required.
And for urban road verges where the requirement for native species is less of an issue, we have an urban road verge mix, which benefits from the addition of a range of low-growing northern hemisphere favourites. Research suggests that an abundance and diversity of flowers leads to a greater bee abundance and bee species richness along roadsides that are restored. (Hopwood, 2008).
So if you are involved in projects where the seeding of verges is prescribed, and want to give biodiversity a boost, then consider our Highways mixes, and help feed our declining pollinators at the same time!
The first research paper to emerge from the RHS Plants for Bugs project has just been published. This experiment has demonstrated that using plants from only a single region of origin (i.e. nativeness) may not be an optimal strategy for resource provision for pollinating insects in gardens. Gardens can be enhanced as a habitat by planting a variety of flowering plants, biased towards native and near-native (Northern Hemisphere) species but with a selection of exotics to extend the flowering season and potentially provide resources for specialist groups.
- As we’ve said all along…
Salisbury et al (2015) Enhancing gardens as habitats for flower-visiting aerial insects (pollinators): should we plant native or exotic species?
Journal of Applied Ecology.
Hopwood J (2008) The contribution of roadside grassland restorations to native bee conservation. Biological Conservation. Vol 141, 10.
